BUCKINGHAM — Friends of Buckingham (FOB), a group opposed to the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), will protest on the steps of the Buckingham Courthouse on Wednesday, August 5 at 12:30 p.m.

Several landowners have court appearances that day as part of civil suits filed by the ACP to gain access to survey on their property.

“August 5 marks an important moment in the movement to stop Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline project from defiling our land, our rights and the quality of our lives,” the release noted.

FOB, joined by supportive citizens, will assemble “to demand justice for landowners committed to protecting their property rights from Dominion’s attempt to use the courts to force landowners to permit Dominion survey teams on their land,” according to the release.

Dominion is the lead partner of the joint venture seeking federal approval of a 42-inch natural gas pipeline through Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward counties. A 40,000 horsepower compressor station is proposed for Buckingham.

“This flies in the face of hundreds of years of constitutional law that clearly forbids such action unless the public’s health and safety benefits from such action.  In this case, the facts are just the opposite: violating property rights in this case would harm the many and benefit only the few,” noted the release.

At the demonstration, the public will hear from property owners who are being “terrorized by Dominion.”

“Dominion must not be allowed to intimidate, buy and lie its way to the destruction of our way of life, our health and safety and our sacred property rights,” said Chad Oba, FOB’s co-chair. “Friends of Buckingham will gather on the steps of Buckingham Court House to show solidarity with our neighbors who are fighting a lawsuit by Dominion Power to survey their land for construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. We stand together to let the judge and Buckingham citizens know that we care strongly about this issue and we are there to support our neighbors and the opposition to the pipeline.”