User:NoahSchmeisser/sandbox

Atlantic Coast Pipeline
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a planned natural gas pipeline slated to run 600 miles (970 km) from West Virginia, through Virginia, to eastern North Carolina.

Characteristics
Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC is the developer and planned operator of the pipeline; the company is a joint venture between Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Southern Company Gas, with Dominion serving as the lead stakeholder. The pipeline is proposed to start in Harrison County, West Virginia, drawing gas from wells in the Utica and Marcellus gas fields, and travel southeast through eastern Virginia and North Carolina to its terminus in Robeson County, North Carolina. A branch is proposed to run east to Chesapeake, Virginia, bringing the total length to about 600 miles (970 km). The pipeline is proposed to have a 42 inches (110 cm) diameter for much of its length, with the southern end in North Carolina measuring 36 inches (91 cm) wide. It would have a capacity of about 1,500,000,000 cubic feet (42,000,000 m3) of gas daily. The pipeline would cross the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia.

---

Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC is the developer and planned operator of the pipeline; the company is a joint venture between Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, and Piedmont Natural Gas, [removal], with Dominion serving as the lead stakeholder. The proposed route begins in Harrison County, West Virginia, drawing gas from wells in the Utica and Marcellus gas fields, and travels southeast through eastern Virginia and North Carolina to its terminus in Robeson County, North Carolina. '''The route would cross the Appalachian Trail and the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia and also includes a lateral extending east to Chesapeake, Virginia. ''' The pipeline is proposed to have a 42 inches (110 cm) diameter for much of its length, with the southern end in North Carolina measuring 36 inches (91 cm) wide. It would have a capacity of about 1,500,000,000 cubic feet (42,000,000 m3) of gas daily.

Development
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline originated in September 2013 when the Obama administration granted a request from Dominion Transmission to export gas to Japan and India. Proposal was announced on record at West Virginia County Commissioner Meetings on May 27, 2014 in Lewis County, WV by Robert Orndorff, Dominion Transmission Representative, on July 1, 2014 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, and on August 7, 2014 in Randolph County by Lauren Ragland and Ed Wade Jr. founders of "West Virginia Wilderness Lovers,"  and the developers began the application process for regulatory approval the following month. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project on December 30, 2016, with a final EIS issued on July 21, 2017 after a period of public comment on the draft. Contingent on federal approval, construction is proposed to begin in late 2017—a construction contract was signed in September 2016 in preparation—and gas transport is planned to begin in late 2019. The cost of building the pipeline is estimated at $5.1 billion and according to some reports expected to create 13,000 jobs.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is one of the priority infrastructure projects of the Donald Trump administration.

On January 26, 2018 the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection approved a general permit for the project and the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality approved a water-quality certification. On February 27, 2018 the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality issued an air quality permit as well.

---

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline project originated in September 2013, when the Obama administration granted a request from Dominion Transmission to export gas to Japan and India. The proposal was announced on record at West Virginia County Commissioner Meetings on May 27, 2014 in Lewis County, West Virginia [removed names, excessive], on July 1, 2014 in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, and on August 7, 2014 in Randolph County, North Carolina, and the developers began the application process for regulatory approval the following month. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a draft environmental impact statement for the project on December 30, 2016, with a final EIS issued on July 21, 2017 after a period of public comment on the draft. '''Developers had hoped to begin construction in late 2017 and to begin gas transport in late 2019, and the project cost was originally estimated at approximately $5.1 billion. Legal proceedings have stalled construction, however, and expected costs have ballooned to nearly $8 billion dollars.'''

>> moved from bottom of draft<< '''On August 6, 2018 the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rescinded two approvals permitting the pipeline, one from the Fish and Wildlife Service and another from the National Park Service regarding crossing the Blue Ridge Parkway. The fact that the proposed route crosses the Appalachian Trail has generated significant legal difficulty. The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the Fourth Circuit's ruling on the permit process, with a ruling expected some time in the spring of 2020.'''

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is one of the priority infrasturcture projects of the Donald Trump administration, and the Trump administration has backed Dominion Energy throughout the appeal process.

Dominion Energy hopes to have completed the pipeline, which will be built in sections, by late 2021, with service by early 2022. Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC claims that the project will generate $28 million dollars per year in local tax revenue, 17,240 construction-based jobs, and 2,200 jobs in other areas.

Edit bottom sections to reflect dates