(RICHMOND, VA)—Today, the Southern Environmental Law Center, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF), and 19 other organizations and individuals filed a petition with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission asking the agency to reconsider its approval of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which occurred last month in a 2 to 1 vote. This step follows comments CBF filed with FERC in 2015, 2016, and 2017 expressing concerns about potential threats to water quality from the pipeline project. CBF Virginia Assistant Director Peggy Sanner issued the following statement.
"Building the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would destroy large areas of forest, disturb sensitive wetlands, and disrupt thousands of Virginia streams, threatening to increase sediment and nutrient pollution in local streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. The pipeline's construction and operation must be held to the strictest environmental standards possible to ensure that Virginia's waterways are protected. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission must reconsider its approval of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline given the numerous unanswered questions about risks to the environment and clean water."
