Atlantic Coast Pipeline files formal application for 564-mile project through 3 states
Atlantic Coast Pipeline files formal application for 564-mile project through 3 states
Posted: Friday, September 18, 2015 10:42 am
BY MICHAEL MARTZ | Richmond Times-Dispatch
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, led by Richmond-based Dominion, formally filed its request Friday with federal regulators to build the 564-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to the southeastern Virginia and North Carolina coasts.
The $5.1 billion project has been under preliminary review since the limited-liability company pre-filed its application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission a year ago.
That application triggered an intensive, often contentious public process to determine a final route and assess the project's impact on natural resources and communities in its path, including 10 counties in Virginia from the Allegheny Mountains to the Atlantic coast.
The 30,000-page application asks the FERC to certify the project as a public benefit and necessity, which would allow the company to use eminent domain to secure rights-of-way for the pipeline route. The company hopes to gain regulatory approval and begin construction by the second half of next year, and bring the pipeline into service by the end of 2018.