Proposals for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross properties on which the Virginia Outdoors Foundation (VOF) holds environmental easements will be deliberated at a special VOF Board meeting on Monday, October 16 at the offices of the State Corporation Commission in Richmond. Ten easement properties on the ACP route and one (an access road) on the MVP route will be considered.
VOF says that it told the ACP and MVP “that such incursions onto VOF easements would be incompatible with the conservation values of the easements, and would therefore trigger a process in state law known as ‘conversion’ of open space. The developers were asked in 2016 to submit applications for conversion to VOF’s trustees, who have been working with the Office of the Attorney General to determine whether the applications meet the requirements of the law.” Action on these applications is what will be considered at the October 16 meeting.
Specifics on the 11 applications are available here. VOF staff recommends in its report on the ACP application that if it the Board deems the proposed conversions meet the requirements set forth in the statute, that several conditions should be imposed, including that the ACP, LLC “transfer to VOF of fee-simple interest to VOF of the Hayfields Farm (in Highland County) and the Rockfish River Parcel (in Nelson County) as Substituted Land for the converted areas of open space easement property.”
VOF will continue to accept public comments on the conversion applications through October 16. Comments may be submitted electronically to , through an online form at http://www.virginiaoutdoorsfoundation.org/comments/, via mail to VOF, 39 Garrett St., Suite 200, Warrenton, VA 20186, and in person during a designated public comment period on the day of the meeting. Comments must include your name and contact information.