ABRA has asked the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) for clarification in how the agency reviews land-disturbing activities associated with a pipeline project, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), but which are removed from the actual route of the project, such as equipment storage yards. Conversations with DEQ staff have suggested that the review standards for erosion and sediment control plans and stormwater plans of such sites would not be subject to the same standard as similar construction work unrelated to a pipeline project. For instance, the DEQ has previously ruled that detailed stormwater management plans for the ACP need not be submitted for approved based on an assumption that the runoff characteristics for finished pipeline rights of way would be unchanged from pre-development conditions. ABRA’s letter to DEQ Director David Paylor is available here.
Clarification Sought from Virginia DEQ on Storage Yard Requirements