Dominion at Highland Board of Supervisors Meeting

 

Six representatives from Dominion Resources, Inc. spoke at Tuesday night’s Highland County Board of Supervisors meeting.

In a PowerPoint presentation, it was explained that the proposed Southeast Reliability Project would cover over 26 miles in Highland County, involving a total of 78 tracts of land. At this point, Dominion has received permission from 54% of landowners to conduct surveys of potentially affected properties in the county.

Tuesday night’s presentation also included details about the project.

• If constructed, the pipeline would be approximately 550 miles long, including a connected lateral pipeline that would bring additional supplies to Hampton Roads in Southeastern Virginia.
• In West Virginia and Virginia, the pipe would be 42 inches in diameter. In North Carolina, it would be 36 inches. The Hampton Roads lateral pipeline would be 20 inches in diameter.
• Three compressor stations have been planned as part of this possible project. One station would be at the beginning of the pipeline in West Virginia, one in central Virginia and one near the Virginia-North Carolina state line. Their exact locations have not yet been determined.
• The capacity of the pipeline is projected to be 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.

The Board of Supervisors had an opportunity to ask Dominion questions. Many of the questions focused on the issue of responsibility.

• What is Dominion’s responsibility if a landowner’s spring is affected?
• What kind of impact would this project have on roads and traffic in the county?
• What requirements does Dominion have in providing standby support for a place like Highland County, where the majority of rescue squads and fire departments are volunteer-based?
• What is the process if landowners continue to refuse to let surveyors come on their land?

Dominion updated their website this week, including a page that highlights the details of its proposed natural gas pipeline. The page clearly states that Dominion has not yet decided to build the pipeline, and a final potential route has not been selected.

Throughout the months of August and September, the company plans to meet with commissioners and supervisors of the affected counties in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. If Dominion decides to move forward with the project, they will submit a Pre-Filing Request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this fall.

For more information, visit www.dom.com/sepipeline.