Fifty-Two organizations, representing thousands of individual members in Virginia, wrote to the Virginia congressional delegation on May 16 urging them to oppose “possible federal legislation that would allow the highly controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to be built across the Appalachian Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway.” The groups’ letter noted that “Dominion Energy is pressuring some members of Congress to consider legislation that could make it easier to build the ACP along the developers’ preferred route.
Tech Firms Call on Dominion for More Renewables, Less Gas
Ten major data industry companies, including Microsoft, Apple, and Adobe, have written Dominion Energy imploring the company to base its future electricity generation on renewables and to diminish its planned reliance on natural gas. The companies’ May 8 letter stated:
Given the significance of our growing and energy-intensive industry in relation to total energy demand in Virginia,
Legislation Introduced to Boost Public Participation in FERC Processes
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) introduced legislation on May 15 to create an Office of Public Participation and Consumer Advocacy at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The Public Engagement at FERC Act, S. 1477, will assist residential and small commercial energy consumers in participating in FERC proceedings,
Upcoming Events – Richmond; Leesburg
Fourth Circuit Panel Hears Arguments on Challenge to ACP Permit
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, VA on May 9 heard arguments challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) biological opinion and incidental take statement for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) that led to work stopping on the project.
New Study Calls Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Boom “Risky”
Pipeline Bubble, a study released April 24 by the Global Energy Monitor, likens the expansion in fossil infrastructure in the United States and beyond to the “heady optimism and over-expansion” that characterized the coal industry just a few years ago.
New Virginia energy coalition is announced
Nine organizations representing a wide range of public policy ideologies announced the on May 7 the formation of the Virginia Energy Reform Coalition (VERC), an unprecedented coalition with the goal of reforming Virginia’s energy market. Coalition policy goals include implementing performance-based regulation,
Feds Issue Bulletin Warning of Pipeline Dangers in Mountains
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued on May 2 an advisory bulletin “to remind owners and operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines of the potential for damage to pipeline facilities caused by earth movement from both landslides and subsidence in variable,
Mountain Valley Watch Mapping Webinar Planned for May 7
Mountain Valley Watch (MVW), a pipeline surveillance program sponsored by the POWHR coalition, and Trout Unlimited are sponsoring a special free webinar on the MVW mapping system on Tuesday, May 7 at 7 pm. MVW was developed to allow for citizen oversight of the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline,
End Environmental Racism Now! – Events
May 17, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Richmond (Click for details)
“End Environmental Racism Now: March With Union Hill”
Join members of the Union Hill community and others as we rally with Rev.