20170406-5489 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 4/6/2017 3:02:35 PM COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Street address: 629 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219 Molly Joseph Ward Mailing address: P.O.P. O. Box 1105,1105, Richmond, Virginia 23218 David K. Paylor Secretary of Natural Resources www.deq.virginia.govwww.deq.virginia.gov Director (804)(804) 698-4000 1-800-592-54821-800-592-5482 April 6, 2017 Mr. Nathaniel J. Davis,Davis, Sr., Deputy Secretary FederalFederal EnergyEnergy RegulatoryRegulatory Commission 888 FirstFirst Street NE,NE, RoomRoom 1A1A Washington, DC 20426 RE:RE: FederalFederal Energy Energy Regulatory Regulatory Commission Commission DraftDraft Environmental Environmental ImpactImpact Statement for the Atlantic CoastCoast Pipeline and Supply Header Project (Docket Nos. CP15-554- 000, CP15-554-001, CP15-555-000 and CP15-556-000; FERC/EIS-0274D;FERC/EIS-0274D; OEP/DG2E/Gas Branch 4; DEQ 16-248F).16-248F). DearDear DeputyDeputy Secretary Davis:Davis: The Commonwealth of Virginia has completed its review of the draft environmental impactimpact statement (DEIS)(DEIS) for the portions of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) Project in Virginia. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is responsible for coordinating Virginia's reviewreview of federal environmental documents prepared pursuant to the NationalNational EnvironmentalEnvironmental Policy Act (NEPA) and respondingresponding to appropriate federal officials on behalfbehalf of the Commonwealth. This letter, including attachments, is the Commonwealth of Virginia's responseresponse to the DecemberDecember 30,30, 2016 publicpublic notice,notice, issuedissued by the FederalFederal EnergyEnergy RegulatoryRegulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) for the ACP DEIS.DEIS. The comments from Virginia's agency reviewers primarily focus on recommending measures to mitigatemitigate potentialpotential environmental impacts. InIn general, participants inin the Commonwealth's reviewreview support the recommendationsrecommendations inin the DEISDEIS to coordinate with government agencies, adhere to protective construction measures, and mitigate for unavoidable impacts. impacts. These statements are discussed in the detailed comments from reviewersreviewers inin Attachment B. 20170406-5489 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 4/6/2017 3:02:35 PM FERC ACP DEIS DEQ 16-248F Page 2 Coordinated Review As part of the Commonwealth's review,review, DEQ requested comments from state agencies, localitieslocalities and planning district commissions. DEQ notified reviewers of the availability of the DEIS and additional informationinformation submitted to the FERC docket by Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (Atlantic or ACP, LLC) on January 10, January 19, January 20, January 27 and FebruaryFebruary 9, 2017. ReviewersReviewers also had an opportunity to review files of the route suitable for use in Geographic Information System software that were provided by Atlantic. The comments that were submitted as part of this review are attached and organized as follows: •. Attachment A: RecommendationsRecommendations for the FEIS, Plans and Procedures •. Attachment B:B: DetailedDetailed comments from reviewersreviewers Attachment A includes more than 100100 recommendations that are based on a summation of comments from participatingparticipating agencies and a locality. This summary highlights priorities derived from submitted comments and is not meant to substitute thethe totality of the individualindividual comments inin Attachment B. The Commonwealth recommends that FERC consider every comment, correction or recommendation detailed in Attachment B that FERC did notnot already address during the consideration of Attachment A. Thank you for the opportunity to comment. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at [email protected]. sullivan@deq. virginia. gov or (804) 698-4204. Sincerely, ^^~^M- Bettina Sullivan, Manager Environmental Impact Review and Long RangeRange Priorities Program Enclosures ec: Kevin Bowman,Bowman, FERCFERC Amy Ewing,Ewing, DGIF Keith Tignor, VDACS Robbie Rhur,Rhur, DCR Jason Bulluck, DCR Drew Hammond, VDH Susan Douglas,Douglas, VDH RogerRoger Kirchen, DHR DavidDavid Spears, DMMEDMME 20170406-5489 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 4/6/2017 3:02:35 PM FERCFERCACPDEIS ACP DEIS DEQ 16-248F PagePage3 3 Greg Evans, DOF TonyTonyWatkinson, Watkinson, VMRC RandyRandy Owen, VMRC ElizabethElizabeth Jordan, VDOT RustyRusty Harrington,Harrington, DOAV Scott Denny, DOAV Martha Little, VOF Bruce Sterling, VDEM Colonel W. Steven Flaherty,Flaherty, VSP Jennifer Mitchell, DRPT RobertaRoberts Lambert,Lambert, HighlandHighland County Ashton N.N. Harrison,Harrison, BathBath County Timothy Fitzgerald, Augusta County Stephen A. Carter, Nelson County RebeccaRebecca Carter, Buckingham County Vivian Seay Giles, Cumberland County Wade Bartlett, Prince Edward County RonaldRonald E.E. Roark,Roark, NottowayNottoway County W. KevinKevin Massengill,Massengill, DinwiddieDinwiddie County CharletteCharlotte T. Woolridge, Brunswick County K. DavidDavid Whittingham, Greensville County Michael W. Johnson, Southampton County PatrickPatrick Roberts,Roberts, City of Suffolk Tim Howlett,Hewlett, City of ChesapeakeChesapeake Michael G. HampHamp II,II, City of Waynesboro Stephen F. Owen, City ofofStaunton Staunton Russ Pace, City of Franklin Brian Thrower, CityCity of EmporiaEmporia Joseph F. Morrissette,Morrissette, Town of Burkeville Cindy Morris, Town of FarmvilleFarmville PhilipPhilip Vannoorbeeck, Town of Blackstone Bonnie Riedesel,Riedesel, Central Shenandoah PDC Chip Boyles, Thomas Jefferson PDC Mary S. Hickman, Commonwealth Regional Gail P. Moody, Southside PDC Ben McFarlane,McFarlane, HamptonHampton Roads PDC 20170406-5489 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 4/6/2017 3:02:35 PM COMMONWEALTH of VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Street address: 629 East Main Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219 Molly Joseph Ward Mailing address: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, Virginia 23218 David K. Paylor Secretary of Natural Resources www.deq.virginia.gov Director (804) 698-4000 1-800-592-5482 ATTACHMENT A: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT, PLANS AND PROCEDURES The recommendations within this attachment are organized as follows: • Part I: Section 5.2 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement o New Recommendations for Section 5.2 o Modifications to Existing Recommendations in Section 5.2 • Part II: Recommendations for Other Sections of the FEIS, Plans and Procedures o Route Changes and Variations . Conservation Sites . Gardner Spring . Surface Waters . Water Supply . Wildlife Resources . Karst Features o Recommendations for Preconstruction Planning, Surveys and Studies . Wetlands and Surface Waters . Soil and Slope Stabilization . Karst Resources . Wildlife Resources . Contaminated Soil, Sediment and Groundwater . Recreational and Scenic Resources . Water Withdrawals . Geologic and Mineral Resources and Mines . Acid-Producing Rock and Soils . Pollution Prevention . Aviation . Water Supplies and Drinking Water Sources . Shapefiles . Waste Database Search . Plant and Wildlife Surveys and Special Status and State-Sensitive Resources 20170406-5489 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 4/6/2017 3:02:35 PM FERC ACP DEIS DEQ 16-248F Attachment A Page 2 . Transportation System o Mitigation Measures for Construction and Maintenance Activities . Wetlands and Surface Waters . Hydrostatic Testing . Stream Crossings . Forest Resources . Wildlife Resources . Government-Funded Best Management Practices . Open Burning and Fugitive Dust . Aviation . Water Supplies . Polychlorinated Biphenyl (PCB) Contamination . Flood Hazard Area . Conservation Sites . Transportation System o Recommendations for Specific Plans . Spill Prevention Controls and Countermeasures . Migratory Bird Conservation Plan . Invasive Plant Species Management Plan . Plans for the Management of Waste and Contaminated Soil, Sediment and Groundwater . Plan for Discovery of Unanticipated Paleontological Resources . Blasting Plan . Karst Terrain Assessment Construction, Monitoring and Mitigation Plan . Karst Survey Report . Traffic and Transportation Management Plan . Wetland and Waterbody Construction and Mitigation Procedures . Restoration and Rehabilitation Plan . Site-Specific Horizontal Directional Drill Plans . Timber Removal Plan . Contaminated Media Plan . Protected Snake Conservation Plan . Non-Native Invasive Plant Species Management Plan within the Draft Construction, Operation and Maintenance Plans o Errors and Clarification Needs in the DEIS 20170406-5489 FERC PDF (Unofficial) 4/6/2017 3:02:35 PM FERC ACP DEIS DEQ 16-248F Attachment A Page 3 Part I: Section 5.2 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement The Commonwealth of Virginia recommends that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) include the following recommendations in Section 5.2 of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and that if the Commission approves the construction and operation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) Project, it condition the order on adherence to these recommendations. If FERC does not include these recommendations in Section 5.2, then the Commonwealth recommends that they be incorporated in appropriate sections of the FEIS, plans and procedures as mitigation measures. To the extent practicable, the Commonwealth recommends that the U.S. Forest Service also consider these recommendations to the degree that they relate to decisions under its jurisdiction. 1) New Recommendations for Section 5.2 a) Recommendation: