Some landowners in Augusta County have received the following letter from Mcguire Woods, Dominions law firm, attempting to convince them to give permission to survey. If anyone in Nelson has received such a letter, please let Friends of Nelson know by emailing our landowner liaison, Ron Enders, at renders@cfw. Our county currently has a denial rate FAR, far, higher than indicated by Dominions figures of surveying over the entire route. The lawyers say in this letter that giving permission to survey does not indicate acceptance of the project - we agree, of course; but alas, Dominion and the media USE these numbers to convey that landowners DO accept the project. For example, this article timesdispatch/news/state-regional/pipeline-opponents-launch-monitoring-project/article_674c7d16-2e6a-5b78-b413-bb3700c2328f.html says: Currently, Dominion officials say that 78 percent of the affected landowners stretching across the entire pipeline have agreed to be surveyed and signed off on the project. They are 100% conflating permission to survey with signing off on the project, which, in common understanding, means AGREEMENT with something. For this reason, Friends of Nelson continues to believe that it is extremely important to deny permission to survey to demonstrate to Dominion and FERC the level of concentrated opposition to the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline we have in Nelson County. We would also like to make clear, and ask everyone to help spread the word about this, that no one should fear the threat that they will file a lawsuit to secure a court order granting access. All this means is that they will attempt to get a court to agree with their interpretation of the survey law. IF they succeed, we will have to let them survey; or, ONLY once they have the court order, risk running afoul of the law. But no one has done anything illegal in refusing permission to survey! This cannot be stressed enough. Also, as someone aptly put it on another page: Giving permission is an act of free will; whereas, if Dominion needs to take legal action to gain access, the record will show it was a land grab. Finally, the survey statute is being challenged in federal court to determine its constitutionality. Therefore, will Dominion be able to get a court order to enforce a law that may be unconstitutional? Things are not clear cut, as much as Dominion would like to pretend they are, which may be a reason they are upping the pressure. November _, 2014 VIA CERTIFIED MAIL, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED Property Owner Mailing Address Line 1/2 City, State ZIP Re: Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC Property of [Owner] Parcel Address and/or County Parcel Identification Number: [Property Address] / [CPIN] (the “Property”) Dear [Owner Name]: Over the past few months, you have received correspondence from Dominion Transmission, Inc. (“DTI”) requesting permission to enter your Property to conduct a survey and examine the survey corridor for environmental, historic and cultural features (the “Studies”), as authorized by Virginia law (Va. Code § 56-49.01). The Studies are for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project (the “Project”), which was formerly referred to as the Southeast Reliability Project. The Project is a proposed interstate natural gas pipeline extending from north central West Virginia into southern North Carolina. The Project is intended to meet the growing need for clean-burning natural gas for power generation – thus promoting cleaner air – as well as for homes and businesses throughout this currently underserved region. McGuireWoods LLP represents DTI and Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (“ACP”) in connection with the Project. Please note that DTI is a contractor to ACP for Project engineering and construction, and that DTI has assigned or will assign its rights under these letters to ACP as the Project owner. Future communications will come on behalf of ACP. My purpose in writing is to respectfully repeat this request for permission to access your property to conduct the Studies. This work aids in determining the best route for the pipeline. You have indicated that you would not authorize the Studies, and that we and our contractors should stay off your land. Acting in good faith, we have honored your request. We firmly believe it is in the best interest of all landowners to grant access, even those landowners who do not support the Project. Granting access does not forego any other property rights and does not declare support for the Project. What it does do is help provide information that can determine the best route for the pipeline and whether the parcels in question are, in fact, suitable for pipeline construction at all. Thus far we have received permission to survey over 70% of the pipeline route. That work, in addition to discussions with landowners, has provided valuable insight in selecting the current pipeline route. Landowner requests are taken into consideration when determining the pipeline route, though adjustments to the proposed pipeline route cannot be guaranteed. Please allow me to review the study process in the hope it will make you more comfortable in agreeing to allow the Studies: • The Studies will help identify the best route for the pipeline with the least impact to the environment, historic and cultural resources. They also give us the ability to gather information required by the federal government as part of its review of the pipeline proposal. • The first step will be for a crew to mark or “flag” the proposed route. Thereafter, a survey crew will pinpoint the route using transits and other surveying equipment. Accompanying this crew or shortly behind it will be technicians who will study the proposed route for any artifacts of historical or archeological significance, endangered species, soil types and other environmental conditions. A more detailed description of the work the accompanying crew will perform is set forth in the enclosed “Survey Process” sheet. • During this process, there may be very minor earth disturbance during the search for historical artifacts. Any such disturbance will be promptly refilled and repaired. Our surveyors may also need to clear pathways through brush or other growth. Although we expect no damage to your property, ACP will reimburse you for any actual damages caused by the Studies. The goal is to make its presence on your property as discreet and unobtrusive as possible, while also fulfilling the requirements of the federal government review process. As I noted, the Studies allow ACP to develop the best overall route. It could be that your land contains features that would suggest the pipeline should be located on another property, or perhaps on another portion of your Property. These features could include wetlands, a family cemetery, or similar items. Your cooperation would allow ACP to better evaluate the presence of such features so that the best overall route can be selected for review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Even though Virginia law gives ACP the right to perform this work because it has sent the requisite letters and notices, our desire is to conduct the Studies with your cooperation. If you are willing to grant permission, please sign in the space below and return one copy of this letter to me in the enclosed self-addressed stamped envelope. Or you can fax a copy of this letter to me at (703) 712-5230, or scan it and email it to me at jwilburn@mcguirewoods. Unfortunately, if ACP is not able to obtain your consent to the Studies, we intend to file a lawsuit to secure a court order granting access. That is not our preference, which is the reason for this final request. I would, therefore, ask that you please reconsider your position and grant permission for ACP to conduct its preliminary work so that legal proceedings can be avoided. I would also be pleased to discuss any concerns you may have or reasonable conditions you may require in connection with your permission. However, I would ask that you contact me with your position within the next ten days. We would like to work with you to resolve this issue and to accommodate as many of your concerns as possible. If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at (703) 712-5059. Thank you for your consideration. Very truly yours, John D. Wilburn Enclosure
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 04:05:04 +0000
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