Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping 5-12-15
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Dominion Transmission, Inc. 701 East Cary Street, Richmond, VA 23219 May 12, 2015 Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 888 First Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20426 Re: Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC & Dominion Transmission, Inc. Atlantic Coast Pipeline & Supply Header Projects Docket Nos. PF15-6-000 & PF15-5-000 Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping Dear Secretary Bose: On November 13, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) approved Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC and Dominion Transmission, Inc. (DTI)’s request to utilize the pre-filing process for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Projects (Projects). As required under 18 CFR 157.21(f)(9), DTI, on behalf of Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, and itself, hereby submits responses to issues raised during the public scoping period for the Projects. If you have any questions, please contact me at 866-319-3382. Respectfully submitted, Angela M. Woolard Angela M. Woolard Regulatory and Certificates Analyst III cc: Mr. Kevin Bowman, FERC ATLANTIC COAST PIPELINE, LLC ATLANTIC COAST PIPEL INE Docket No. PF15-6-000 and DOMINION TRANSMISSIO N, INC. SUPPLY HEADER PROJEC T Docket No. PF15-5-000 Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping Prepared by May 2015 Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION ..............................................................................................1 2.0 INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................3 3.0 COMMENT METRICS ....................................................................................................4 4.0 COMMENT RESPONSES ...............................................................................................8 4.1 Resource Report 1 – Project Description .................................................................8 4.1.1 General Comments.......................................................................................8 4.1.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................10 4.2 Resource Report 2 – Water Use and Quality .........................................................13 4.2.1 General Comments.....................................................................................13 4.2.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................18 4.3 Resource Report 3 – Fish, Wildlife, and Vegetation .............................................34 4.3.1 General Comments.....................................................................................34 4.3.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................36 4.4 Resource Report 4 – Cultural Resources ...............................................................47 4.4.1 General Comments.....................................................................................47 4.4.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................48 4.5 Resource Report 5 – Socioeconomics....................................................................51 4.5.1 General Comments.....................................................................................51 4.5.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................55 4.6 Resource Report 6 – Geologic Resources ..............................................................59 4.6.1 General Comments.....................................................................................59 4.6.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................62 4.7 Resource Report 7 – Soils ......................................................................................67 4.7.1 General Comments.....................................................................................67 4.7.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................68 4.8 Resource Report 8 – Land Use, Recreation and Aesthetics ...................................70 4.8.1 General Comments.....................................................................................70 4.8.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................72 4.9 Resource Report 9 – Air and Noise Quality ..........................................................79 4.9.1 General Comments.....................................................................................79 4.9.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................81 4.10 Resource Report 10 – Alternatives ........................................................................84 4.10.1 General Comments.....................................................................................84 4.10.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................86 4.11 Resource Report 11 – Reliability and Safety .........................................................92 4.11.1 General Comments.....................................................................................92 4.11.2 Specific Comments ....................................................................................95 4.12 Cumulative Impacts ...............................................................................................98 4.12.1 General Comments.....................................................................................98 i Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Commenters by Stakeholder Category – Atlantic Coast Pipeline .................... 5 Table 3.2 Top Issues by Stakeholder Category – Atlantic Coast Pipeline ....................... 6 Table 3.3 Top Issues by Relative Interest – Atlantic Coast Pipeline ................................ 6 Table 3.4 Commenters by Stakeholder Category – Supply Header Pipeline ................... 7 Table 3.5 Top Issues by Stakeholder Category – Supply Header Project ........................ 8 Table 3.6 Top Issues by Relative Interest – Supply Header Project ................................. 8 ii Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ACP Atlantic Coast Pipeline AGL AGL Resources, Inc. APE Area of Potential Effect Atlantic Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC ATWS additional temporary workspace BA Biological Assessment bcf/d billion cubic feet per day Certificate Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity CFR Code of Federal Regulations Columbia Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC Commission Federal Energy Regulatory Commission CAA Clean Air Act CWA Clean Water Act Dominion Dominion Resources, Inc. DTI Dominion Transmission, Inc. Duke Energy Duke Energy Corporation EIS Environmental Impact Statement ENGO environmental non-government organization EPA Environmental Protection Agency FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission FWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service GDS-NWR Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge GHG greenhouse gases GIS geographic information system GWNF George Washington National Forest HDD horizontal directional drill HSWCD Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District LRMP Land and Resource Management Plan MBTA Migratory Bird Treaty Act MNF Monongahela National Forest MP milepost NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards NCDENR North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources NCWRC North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NGO non-government organization NHNA Natural Heritage Natural Area NOAA Fisheries National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service NPS National Park Service NRDC Natural Resources Defense Council NRHP National Register of Historic Places OHV off-highway vehicle PHMSA Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Plan Upland Erosion Control, Revegetation, and Maintenance Plan iii Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping Procedures Wetland and Waterbody Construction and Mitigation Procedures Projects Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Projects SHP Supply Header Project SPCC Plan Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures Plan TNC The Nature Conservancy Transco Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers USDOT U.S. Department of Transportation USFS U.S. Forest Service VDCR Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation VDEQ Virginia Department of Environmental Quality VDGIF Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries VDMME Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy WVDEP West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection WVDNR West Virginia Division of Natural Resources iv Responses to Issues Raised During Scoping 1.0 PROJECT DESCRIPTION Atlantic Coast Pipeline Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (Atlantic) is a company formed by four major U.S. energy companies – Dominion Resources, Inc. (Dominion; NYSE: D), Duke Energy Corporation (Duke Energy; NYSE: DUK), Piedmont Natural Gas Co., Inc. (Piedmont; NYSE: PNY), and AGL Resources, Inc. (AGL; NYSE: GAS). The company was created to develop, own, and operate the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), an approximately 556-mile-long, interstate natural gas transmission pipeline system designed to meet growing energy needs in Virginia and North Carolina. The ACP will be capable of delivering 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) 1 of