Rivers, streams and forests are in the crosshairs of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a proposed interstate gas pipeline, which would cut through one of the most intact conservation landscapes in the Southeast in West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina to move natural gas from the well-fields to Mid-Atlantic and Southeast customers. Its route includes remote sections of the George Washington and Monongahela national forests.

Dominion Energy and Duke Energy are rushing forward with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline even though it lacks strong market support, and they plan to pass the cost of this pipeline on to their customers. This unnecessary pipeline will not only harm the mountains, forests and waterways in its path - it will also disrupt the lives of the people living and working along its 600-mile-long route and lock a new generation into decades more of fossil fuel consumption.

A central argument against the pipeline is the growing evidence that the project is not necessary. In the three years since the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was proposed its justification as a fuel source for gas-fired power plants has continued to erode. New analysis shows that demand for gas-fired electricity generation is not growing in our region and is not expect to grow significantly for the foreseeable future.

Other concerns include the impact on water quality, and concerns about the risks to agricultural and rural communities, including damage to scenic landscapes and the risk of pollution.

[Editor’s note: Critics also note that the proposed route disproportionately impacts Native Americans, including members of the Meherrin, Haliwa-Saponi, Coharie, and Lumbee Tribes of North Carolina. Native Americans make up over 13% of the population living in census tracts located within one mile the proposed route through North Carolina.]