CHARLESTON — State leaders are expressing disappointment about Dominion Energy and Duke Energy deciding to cancel the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
The companies announced the decision July 5, just weeks after West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey led an 18-state coalition that helped convince the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that had unnecessarily blocked construction.
“I’m deeply disappointed about this decision to cancel construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline — a project which would have provided more than 1,000 West Virginian families with good paying jobs,” Morrisey said in a statement. “My office helped lead the fight to reopen the pipeline at the U.S. Supreme Court and currently leads efforts to reverse the flawed national injunction to further limit construction on pipelines that recently came out of a Montana district court."
Morrisey
In a statement, Duke Energy Corp. and Dominion Energy Inc. said the decision to cancel the pipeline is connected to delays as well as “increasing cost uncertainty which threaten the economic viability of the project.”
“For almost six years we have worked diligently and invested billions of dollars to complete the project and deliver the much-needed infrastructure to our customers and communities,” Duke's Lynn Good and Dominion's Thomas Farrell said in their joint July 5 statement. “Throughout we have engaged extensively with and incorporated feedback from local communities, labor and industrial leaders, government and permitting agencies, environmental interests and social justice organizations.
"We express sincere appreciation for the tireless efforts and important contributions made by all who were involved in this essential project.”
The 600-mile pipeline would have went from Harrison County through Lewis, Upshur, Randolph and Pocahontas counties to Virginia and North Carolina. Proponents said the pipeline would have meant thousands of jobs.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Forest Service could issue a permit allowing the pipeline to cross under the Appalachian Trail. The 7-2 decision overturned a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals verdict that didn't allow the special-use permit. Environmentalist claimed Congress only could authorize such crossing.
In their statement, Duke and Dominion also said other judicial rulings could cause problems for the pipeline's future. Those include an April federal court ruling in Montana that blocked a federal permit for the Keystone XL pipeline after the Army Corps of Engineers based on potential effects to endangered species. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals later denied a request to stay that decision.
“The potential for a Supreme Court stay of the district court’s injunction would not ultimately change the judicial venue for appeal nor decrease the uncertainty associated with an eventual ruling,” Good and Farrell said in the statement, also noting that the cost of the pipeline has doubled to $8 billion. “This announcement reflects the increasing legal uncertainty that overhangs large-scale energy and industrial infrastructure development in the United States.
"Until these issues are resolved, the ability to satisfy the country’s energy needs will be significantly challenged."
Morrisey also was critical of the Keystone XL ruling and its effects. Earlier this month, a coalition led by Morrisey urged the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the Montana decision, which he called an "overly broad, federal district court order that impacts the construction of new oil and natural gas pipelines across the country."
“The concept of one district court judge paralyzing the construction of pipelines across our country is very disconcerting," he said. "My office will look even more closely at this matter and will keep up our all-in fight for West Virginia jobs.
"We should and must not quit fights like these."
Morrisey's coalition says the lower court ruling brought a sudden and unexpected halt to construction projects far beyond the matter in question. It also argues that without a stay to block its enforcement, "the order will immediately disrupt the economy at an already precarious time as the projects — and the energy resources they provide — are critical to each state."
U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) also said they were disappointed in the decision to cancel the pipeline.
"I’m disappointed to learn plans to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline have been cancelled," said Manchin, a ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. "The Atlantic Coast Pipeline project took meaningful steps to ensure the pipeline was safely constructed and the Appalachian Trail and surrounding areas were protected.
"The pipeline would have created good paying construction and manufacturing jobs for hard working West Virginians, reinvested in our energy markets increasing our domestic energy supply, and strengthened national security with reliable energy to key military installations. Today’s announcement is yet another reminder of why it is critically important we work together to find a responsible balance between the environment and economy. We must take steps to modernize our nation’s energy policy by passing the bipartisan American Energy Innovation Act."
Capito echoed Manchin's comments.
“Today’s news that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline construction has been canceled is terrible and will cost West Virginia thousands of construction jobs," she said. "Our country has experienced tremendous growth in energy production over the last several years, which presents a huge opportunity for West Virginia’s economy.
"This project would have allowed for the expanded supplies of natural gas for residential and commercial heating and electricity generation, which would have provided affordable energy for residents and businesses while also spurring economic development. West Virginia is energy rich, and we should make it easier to use energy resources produced right here at home to meet demand across the country."
U.S. Representatives David McKinley and Carol Miller, both Republicans, also expressed sadness.
“Ground activists created challenges every step of the way and caused the destruction of much these much needed jobs and tax revenue," McKinley tweeted. "West Virginia is energy rich and we should make it easier for energy sources to be produced domestically."
Miller said she plans to introduce a bill to “make sure what happened to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project never happens again.”
“Supporting our natural gas industry is crucial to American energy independence, growing our energy exports, and providing clean, affordable, reliable power. We can and must do a better job ensuring we complete major natural gas projects,” she tweeted.