ABRA’s Compliance Surveillance Initiative (CSI) is demonstrating its worth, despite the limited construction that has occurred for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Based upon aerial surveillance flights over the project’s route in West Virginia (conducted in November and December by the Pipeline Air Force, an arm of the CSI program), 22 potential incidents of non-compliance were noted and analyzed by CSI’s team of analysts, and subsequently submitted by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition (WVRC, a cooperating partner of the CSI program) to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) . The WVDEP subsequently issued a Notice of Violation, including citations for:
- Erosion control devices not in place
- Water bars not installed
- Perimeter controls not in place
Below are some of the photos produced by recent CSI surveillance.
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Above left: Pipeline Air Force photo of ACP construction in Dry Branch and Middle Mountain area in Pocahontas County. Above right: Citizen volunteer observer photo of ACP construction on Middle Mountain in Pocahontas County. In both instances, water bars are not installed as required for steep slope construction.
The central strength of ABRA’s CSI program is its citizen volunteers. Many people have already signed on to be part of the program, but many more are needed. Persons interested in becoming CSI volunteers can sign up by clicking here.