Editor:

In a recent request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) asking for a scheduling change, Dominion claimed financial harm if not allowed to obtain an extension from FERC to proceed to tree cutting on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. Now, after getting denied the extension, they are claiming in public that it is no problem at all. Well, it cannot be both a problem and not a problem, so Dominion is caught in a lie here, which may point to much bigger problems.

Dominion is fearful of investors peering behind the curtain on this mammoth project. The truth is that the ACP is over a year behind schedule and is facing more delays. The project is rife with scheduling problems with sub-contractors and incomplete filings at FERC and with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality. The quality control on their paper filings is clearly not up to the standards of their Six Sigma certification, with lack of proper routing maps, lack of adequate mitigation plans, and last minute changes.

With the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s new Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative (CSI) program putting the magnifying glass on all the ACP activity, including the high-risk drilling challenges in the Virginia mountains and drilling under the James River and other waterways, the risk for exposure of more ACP problems grows. If we cannot trust Dominion’s statements, filings or project management, we cannot trust Dominion’s management of the ACP.

Joseph Jeeva Abbate

Buckingham