Dominion Eyes Alternate Route for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

Immense public opposition in Virginia led developers to propose alternate routes for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, avoiding the two counties where residents have been most unwavering. Dominion Transmission Inc., which plans to build the 550-mile natural gas pipeline through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina to serve southeastern utilities, announced in May that it mapped a more-eastern route through Augusta and Nelson counties, slightly shortening the proposed route through the state and crossing fewer bodies of water. According to Dominion, the changes “potentially have less impact to environmental, historical and cultural resources than the initial route.” But landowners’ qualms persist since the alternate route does not take advantage of existing right-of-ways, among other concerns.