The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted on August 17 permission for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (ACP, LLC) to implement plans to conduct interim work on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) during the period of the stop work order on the project. FERC had requested the plan as part of its August 10 stop work order for the project, which had been prompted by an August 6 federal court decision vacating two key permits for the ACP and a subsequent request made to the agency by several ABRA members for a stop work order to be issued.
FERC’s August 17 letter to ACP, LLC authorizes the company “to implement the plans with the following condition: for locations where trees have been felled, but mainline construction activity has not yet started (table 3.1-1 of each plan), Atlantic and DETI must continue monitoring the right-of-way as dictated by weather conditions, but no less than once every month.” Continuing, the letter states:
We note that clearing of felled vegetation has not yet occurred on federal lands. Thus, the stabilization measures (except for monitoring) would generally not apply to these locations. However, Atlantic must continue to work and seek concurrence from the appropriate agencies for any additional measures that Atlantic may propose on federal lands.
The ACP, LLC plan, submitted August 14, is available here.