A March 16, 9:30 am hearing in the Newport News City Council Chambers has been scheduled by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to consider an application for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC to install a natural gas pipeline beneath the bed of 48 non-tidal streams and/or rivers with drainage areas greater than 5 square miles, which are considered to be State-owned subaqueous bottomlands of the Commonwealth, beneath 3 tidal streams and approximately 1.6 acres of tidal wetlands along the designated pipeline corridor in Highland, Bath, Augusta, Nelson, Buckingham, Prince Edward, Cumberland, Nottoway, Dinwiddie, Brunswick, Greensville and Southampton Counties and the Cities of Chesapeake and Suffolk.

The hearing follows a solicitation of written comments by the Commission in January. The Commission approved a similar application last month for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Further details on the March 16 are here.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission Schedules Hearing on ACP

ABRA CONSERVATION HUB

ABRA’s Conservation Hub program promotes responsible resource management by providing access to critical information needed for effective public involvement in environmental review and oversight.

Following the defeat of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in 2020, ABRA initiated the Conservation Hub to support informed public engagement with the broader range of environmental issues confronting the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Mountain region. The Conservation Hub builds on the analysis and information sharing capacity achieved through ABRA’s Pipeline CSI project during the years of ACP opposition.

The Conservation Hub is based on the use of GIS mapping to provide details and context for land development projects and management practices that involve risk of environmental harm, as well as for environmental preservation and restoration initiatives. The Conservation Hub also provides access to regulatory documents and assessments related to specific projects or issues.

Multiple Conservation Hub sites, focused on individual projects or issues, have been developed collaboratively with ABRA’s partners and allies. Going forward, we invite conservation groups, individuals, and communities to provide ideas for new Hub sites and GIS mapping that can contribute to informed public engagement on behalf of environmental integrity in the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region.