And those solutions are the options that Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies are clamoring for, the same people that we’re trying to get to come and do business in Virginia.”
Environmental impact Opponents also worry about
environmental risk. They say the 42-inch- diameter pipeline would disrupt some of the most pristine areas of Virginia as it passes through 16 miles of national for- ests, hundreds of rivers and streams and steep mountain terrain. Also along the route are 1,400 Virginia landowners who could see property taken through eminent domain if FERC approves the project. FERC issued its final environmental
impact statement on the ACP as this issue went to press. The statement said that, while construction and operation of the pipeline would result in some “adverse effects,” most could be reduced to “less-than-significant levels” by following FERC recommendations and adhering to impact-avoidance, minimization and mitigation measures. One ACP opponent, Lew Freeman, executive director of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, said the statement was based on “woefully inad- equate analysis.” FERC was expected to vote on a
permit for the ACP about 90 days after release of the statement — if it has a three-person quorum. Since February, the five-member commission has had only two commissioners. President Donald Trump has nominated two candidates for the commission, but they still were await- ing Senate confirmation in mid-July.
Dominion donations Dominion, a Fortune 500 corpora-
tion with annual revenue of $11.4 billion, is a company with deep pockets and political clout. As one of the country’s largest producers and transporters of energy, it has a portfolio of about 26,200 megawatts of generation, 15,000 miles of natural-gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and more than 6 million utility and retail energy customers. In its Virginia service area, it func-
tions as a utility monopoly, serving 2.5 million customers in this state and eastern North Carolina.
Photo by Mark Rhodes
Greg Buppert, left, and Will Cleveland, attorneys with the Southern Environmental Law Center, say the justifi cation for the pipeline has eroded since it was proposed in 2014 due to increased energy effi ciency and the availability of solar and wind alternatives.
Dominion is regulated by the Gen-
eral Assembly and the State Corporation Commission, and it’s well known that the energy giant is Virginia’s top corporate political donor. According to the Virginia Public
Access Project (VPAP), the company gave $442,000 to Democrats and $445,000 to Republicans in Virginia in 2016 and 2017 (through June 1). Dominion officials point out that environmental groups also give hefty donations to politicians. That comparison, says state Sen. J. Chapman Petersen, D-Fairfax County, isn’t exactly apples to apples. “These groups are volun- teers, advocates. They don’t get any special protection from state laws.” Dominion, though, is given “quasi-
governmental powers,” notes Petersen. “To give a public-service corporation that amount of power and then allow them to give donations to the people who regulate them, to me, is too much.” During this year’s General Assembly,
Petersen proposed a bill that would have prohibited members of the General Assem- bly or holders of statewide office from accepting campaign money from public- service corporations like Dominion. The bill failed, but he plans to reintroduce it in 2018. “Right now people aren’t happy,” he
says. “They’re not happy about the pipe- line, the coal ash [the disposal of waste
www.VirginiaBusiness.com
from coal-fired power plants] …” and other issues that have dogged Dominion over the past couple years, including legislation passed in 2015 exempting Dominion Virginia Power and Appala- chian Power from rate reviews by the State Corporation Commission for seven years. Petersen tried to repeal the rate freeze
this year, but his bill didn’t make it out of committee. He contends that the rationale for the legislation no longer exists since it was predicated on the onerous costs of implementing the Clean Power Plan advo- cated by then-President Barack Obama. At that time, energy companies, including Dominion, feared the stricter regulations would lead to higher energy costs for customers as companies would be forced to close coal plants. Since then, the CPP has been stayed by the Supreme Court, and President Donald Trump has issued an executive order repealing the policy. Petersen calls the continued suspen-
sion of the rate review, “a gross display of political power and zero benefit for the customer [because it bans customers in Virginia from receiving refunds when electric companies earn excessive profits]. That’s why I did what I did,” he says, dur- ing this year’s legislative session. Dominion has said the rate freeze
would help the company stabilize prices for electricity.
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