RALEIGH, NC -- Yesterday, the Sierra Club, in conjunction with several other clean air and water advocates, submitted more than 5,000 comments opposing state certification of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). The ACP is an interstate fracked gas project of Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, Southern Company Gas, and majority owner Dominion Energy. The groups submitted the legal comments from thousands of North Carolina residents as part of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) process for considering water quality certification under section 401 of the Clean Water Act, which is necessary for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to be constructed through North Carolina.
“If built, the fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline would threaten the health and safety of people in eastern North Carolina,” said Kelly Martin, Associate Director of the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign. “The ACP would pump fracked gas across hundreds of rivers, streams and bodies of water that North Carolinians use for fishing, swimming, and drinking. Clean, renewable energy is already affordable and there is no need for Duke Energy to take land from North Carolinians to build their dirty, dangerous Atlantic Coast Pipeline,” she added.
Technical comments emphasizing the state’s duty to reject the water quality certification for the pipeline were submitted by Southern Environmental Law Center. Among others, the comments were joined by North Carolina Conservation Network, Natural Resource Defense Council, Sound Rivers’ three Riverkeepers for the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico Rivers, and Winyah Rivers.
DEQ’s comment period for the fracked gas pipeline’s 401 water quality permit closes today, Saturday, August 19th. Advocates and residents packed hearings in Fayetteville and Rocky Mount in July, with the overwhelming majority speaking out against the pipeline.
“From writing letters to showing up at hearings, to paddling down the Tar River in protest, North Carolinians are rejecting Duke Energy’s attempt to build a fracked gas pipeline through our communities,” said Caroline Hansley, Organizing Representative for Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign. “The people will not sit idly by as our clean air and water are threatened.”
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.