Tell FERC: Get Atlantic Coast Laborers Back to Work!
**Project Update** On September 17, FERC submitted a letter to Dominion Energy stating it will allow construction to resume on the Atlantic Coast pipeline, weeks after work was halted when a federal appeals court threw out two key permits for the 600-mile (965-kilometer) natural gas pipeline. This is a critical victory for our members whose jobs were put in jeopardy when FERC issued the stop work order over the summer. CLICK HERE to view the press release.**
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has made a stop-work order on Dominion Energy's Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a $5.5 billion investment in the Virginias and Carolinas. The order follows a ruling by the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals revoking a right-of-way permit that the National Park Service had granted the project to cross beneath the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. A three-judge panel ruled that the park service cited inapplicable laws and failed to explain how approval was consistent with its mission. Judges had previously said a U.S. Fish and Wildlife permit didn’t have sufficient wildlife protections, and they elaborated on this in their ruling.
In light of those rulings, FERC determined that the project had not obtained the necessary permits to proceed. Let's get our members back to work! Tell FERC you support Atlantic Coast. Add your name below NOW.
Please accept this letter in strong support of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The recent stop-work order will have drastic and immediate impacts on the thousands of laborers across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, halt needed economic activity in the region and stop progress on critical natural gas infrastructure.
Atlantic Coast is a multi-billion-dollar private investment in our region’s energy infrastructure. Construction alone will provide local laborers with 17,240 new jobs, and the business development surrounding the pipeline and its four transmission stations will require over 2,200 new created jobs. Many of these laborers are members of Pipeliners Local 798, a trades union that represents the best pipe fitters, welders and other industry workers who depend on projects like this to provide for their families. Our members undergo extensive and continual training and have a long history of constructing safe and efficient energy infrastructure like Atlantic Coast across the country.
This project will also help millions of residents gain access to affordable, reliable, environmentally responsible and domestically produced energy. Once complete, Atlantic Coast will carry natural gas through eight North Carolina counties, fueling more households and businesses with clean energy, all while revitalizing local economies along the project route. The benefits associated with Atlantic Coast are exactly why elected officials work so hard to develop strategies for safe and responsible pipeline developments that will bring resources to markets throughout the region.
A work-stop order on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a denial of affordable and clean energy to American families and small businesses, a stop to local economic growth and a denial of good job opportunities for our hard-working men and women. What makes this work-stop order most frustrating is that it was in response to federal agencies skirting their own guidelines with approving this critical project. Local laborers, homeowners, residents and community members who stood to benefit from Atlantic Coast should not be punished because of a governmental oversight.
Project representatives are already working with the key agencies to resolve the issues in FERC’s order so they can resume construction as soon as possible. These issues should be resolved quickly without causing unnecessary delay to the project. This is why I ask that you please promptly reissue all necessary permits that will allow construction of Atlantic Coast Pipeline to continue.
See who else has taken this action
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Dana Brumley
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Joseph Bigley
Pipeliners Local 798
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Derek Clark
Pipeliners Local 798
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Jeri L Allison
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John Parker
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Samuel Laspata
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James Fraley
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Kamron Robinson
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Wade Pilgreen Pilgreen
Pipeliners Local 798
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Season Keiffer
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Amber Glaze
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Norman E Bouley
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Ed Coker
Pipeliners Local 798
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Charles Yates
Pipeliners Local 798 Central