The proposed 550 mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, with anticipated costs of $4.5 to $5 billion, is planned to span from Harrison County, West Virginia, through Virginia, and end near Pembroke in Robeson County, North Carolina. In North Carolina, the pipeline would cross and affect landowners in Northampton, Halifax, Nash, Wilson, Johnston, Sampson, Cumberland and Robeson Counties. A joint venture of subsidiaries of Dominion Resources, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources, the pipeline is planned to carry natural gas from shale basins in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania to heat and power homes and businesses in Virginia and North Carolina.
Construction is expected to begin in 2017, with first service to customers in late 2018. The ACP builders indicate that they will not be purchasing land from affected homeowners. Instead, property owners are to be compensated for granting an easement along the pipeline’s route, with one-time payments to be made to landowners for easement rights and for damages to timber or crops on the land. The pipeline is to be contained in a trench about nine to ten feet deep. Post-construction, while affected land may be used for crops and livestock, there will be restrictions placed along the right of way regarding buildings and other permanent structures, and the planting of trees.
Are you affected? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requires “open house meetings” to educate landowners and members of the public about the proposed route and project. Landowners potentially affected by the pipeline’s route have been notified by mail and invited to attend. The first meetings of 2015 were held the first week in January in Cumberland, Johnston and Northhampton Counties.
Want to Learn More? The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission also publishes a pamphlet “An Interstate Natural Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I Need to Know?” It is available online at www.ferc.gov.
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