Future Posting will be on pages of blogs: Poultry Processing Plant, Setbacks on Land, Keep Ban On Uranium Mining, People rights vs Gas Pipelines, No Nukes

Comments:   Posting will be done on the pages on blog plus just follow my friends on Facebook: 
Piedmont Residents in Defense of the Environment, Virginia Against Uranium Mining, Erica Gray:  No Nukes, Beyond Nuclear, BREDL:  Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League

 
Here are the following environmental concerns and issues we are following:

• Poultry Industrial Farming/Processing Center
• Info all Gas Pipelines and  people personal property rights
• Setbacks and Biosolids spreading:  again Sludge is full of metals, germs
• Keep the Ban Uranium Mining
• Coal Ash:  move the ponds off our rivers
• No Nuke Plants

Biosolids:  No to Setbacks based on spreading of sludge
Pittsylvania County Setbacks group selects leaders :                            

Subcommittee grapples with how to balance agricultural, residential interests: 

The Agricultural Development Board is proposing that residential property owners bordering farmland be required by the county to abide by the same requirements that farmers adjoining residential dwellings must follow.

According to guidelines from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, farmers cannot operate — such as spreading biosolids or manure — within 200 feet of an occupied dwelling or within 100 feet of a well.
http://www.godanriver.com/news/pittsylvania_county/setbacks-group-selects-leaders/article_18dd57f8-87ac-11e3-8b83-001a4bcf6878.html

 

 

Supports Uranium Mining:  Pittsylvania County Farm Bureau’s stance on mining differs from statewide group:  “We feel we should be able to harvest our products and be they animal, vegetable or mineral  Another dude who raises beef cattle in Gretna, says he supports VUI’s efforts
http://www.newsadvance.com/go_dan_river/news/pittsylvania_county/pittsylvania-county-farm-bureau-s-stance-on-mining-differs-from/article_a04662f0-3e71-11e2-ae70-0019bb30f31a.html

Future Posting will be on pages of blogs:  Poultry Processing Plant, Setbacks on Land, Keep Ban On Uranium Mining, People rights vs Gas Pipelines

Natural Gas Pipeline Presentation

For Immediate Release:

 

 

 

Natural Gas Pipeline Presentation

Chatham, Virginia December 9, 2014

 

 

PRIDE PRESS RELEASE:

 

Piedmont Residents In Defense of the Environment (PRIDE) is sponsoring a presentation by Mike Yates, Commissioner of the Revenue, Dickenson Co., VA, regarding the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline.  The presentation is scheduled for Friday, December 12, 2014, at El Cazador Restaurant, Chatham, VA, from 6-8 PM.

 

Mr. Yates will share personal and professional experiences about natural gas pipelines (2) on his property and pipelines, in general.

 

Terms like "sterility in perpetuity," "wheelage," "pass-through tax," "property condemnation/devaluation," "gross receipt tax," etc., will be presented and discussed.  A Q & A session will follow the presentation.

 

For more information, please contact Anne Cockrell @ (434) 250-6555.

 

Radiological Hazards of Uranium Mining & Related Considerations: Canadian authorities have consistently misled Canadians

Comments:  Thanks for all your hard work:  Dr. Gordon Edwards!

Radiological Hazards of Uranium Mining & Related Considerations:  Canadian authorities have consistently misled Canadians

Friends:

The following is an abbreviated summary of a supplementary submission I sent today to the Panel investigating Uranium Mining in the province of Quebec.  It deals with the elevated lung cancer rates associated with the permissible levels of radon exposure in homes and in uranium mines in Canada.

This summary can be found at  http://ccnr.org/radon_standards_short.pdf .

The full text of the supplementary submission is at http://ccnr.org/radon_standards.pdf .

Earlier submissions to the Uranium Inquiry from Gordon Edwards and the CCNR are:

"Too Heavy A Price To Pay" -- http://ccnr.org/CCNR_BAPE_2014.pdf 

together with two slide shows:

http://ccnr.org/Uranium_CCNR_BAPE_rev3.pdf

http://ccnr.org/Uranium_GE_BAPE_rev3.pdf

 

Gordon Edwards.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of Supplementary Submission:

 

Radon Standards should not be portrayed as “safe levels”

Canada’s regulatory standards for radon exposure, both for workers (in uranium mines) and for the public (in homes), are neither safe, nor are they as low as reasonably achievable. In fact they pose a significant risk of lung cancer for those so exposed.

 

(1) Previous standard for radon in homes: 800 Bq/m3 (becquerels per cubic metre)

As noted in the 1998 publication “Le Radon à Oka”, people living in radon-contaminated homes and exposed at Health Canada’s permissible level of exposure over an extended period of time would experience a tripling of lung cancer rates.  For smokers, the lifetime rate would go from 50  to 150 lung cancers for every 1000 people chronically exposed at that level of radon.  For non-smokers, the rate would go from 5 to 15 lung cancers per 1000.

Since that time, under pressure from provincial health authorities, Health Canada’s permissible level of exposure to radon in homes was reduced fourfold in 2007. The fact that the Canadian government would regard the previous standard as “acceptable” for so many years is an indictment of the degraded “safety culture” at the federal level when it comes to public exposures to atomic radiation.

 

(2) Current standard for radon in homes: 200 Bq/m3.

Reducing radon exposure fourfold will reduce the number of radon-caused lung cancers fourfold. So for people chronically exposed at the new permissible level of radon in homes, there would be a 50 percent increase in lung cancers.  For smokers, the rate would go from 50 to 75 lung cancers per 1000, and for non-smokers the rate would go from 5 to 7.5 lung cancers per 1000.  Altogether, the lung cancer rate in society would go from 55 per 1000 to 82.5 per 1000, if people were chronically exposed at the current permissible level of 200 Bq/m3.

This standard is far from safe, and it is far from acceptable – especially for new homes. The WHO, in recommending a limit of 100 Bq/m3 for ALL homes in 2009, made a special plea for new homes – saying that all countries should be “implementing radon prevention in building codes to reduce radon levels in homes under construction”

 

(3) Thirty Years of Inaction – The Evidence Was There in 1978

The current federal standard for radon in homes is twice as high as that now recommended by the World Health Organization. Before 2007 the federal standard was four times higher than that.  Yet the government knew 36 years ago that chronic exposure to even the present permissible levels of radon gas in homes would cause a major increase in lung cancer rates. 

In 1978, I testified at the Ontario Environmental Hearings on the proposed radon standards for new housing projects in Elliot Lake. The Ontario Ministry of Housing was at that time proposing an “acceptable” level of radon in entire subdivisions of brand-new homes being built.  This level was about 25 percent LESS than the current federal standard.

 

Using mortality figures provided by the Ministry, I demonstrated to the panel that if people were chronically exposed at the proposed radon standard, one would expect to see at least a 31 percent increase in lung cancer – that’s about 17 extra lung cancers per 1000.  So instead of 55 lung cancers per 1000 (smokers and non-smokers combined), one would see 72 lung cancers per 1000.  To me, this did not seem an acceptable standard for brand new homes.

 

A summary of my testimony can be found at http://ccnr.org/lung_cancers.html . The Panel accepted my analysis and recommended a totally independent review of the proposed radon standard for homes.  However, no such independent reassessment ever took place. 

 

The Atomic Energy Control Board (AECB) maintained that there would be no risk associated with the radon limits proposed by the Ministry of Housing.  Indeed, that same limit had earlier been promulgated by the AECB as the clean-up criterion for homes in Port Hope Ontario that had been contaminated with radioactive wastes from the Eldorado uranium refinery.

During the 1980 Royal Commission of Inquiry into Uranium Mining in British Columbia, the BC Medical Association (BCMA) was shocked by the disconnect between alarming medical data on the one hand and unfounded reassurances from the regulatory agency on the other hand. They called the AECB an agency that is “Unfit to Regulate”. See http://ccnr.org/bcma.html . 

 

“The present average allowable exposure to the public [to radon in homes] could result in 200-300 extra cases of lung cancer per 10,000 people per lifetime. In light of current knowledge, this might be considered tantamount to allowing an industrially induced and publicly sanctioned epidemic of cancer.”

 

“That the AECB consistently and seriously neglected its statutory responsibility for the regulation of uranium mines is obvious to the most casual observer.”

from the BCMA Report, “Summary of Major Points”

 The BCMA concluded that the proposed standard for radon in Elliot Lake homes would result in 20-30 additional lung cancer deaths per 1000, rather than the 17 per 1000 that I had calculated.

 

(4) The Thomas/McNeill Report, Commissioned by the AECB

Stung by the BCMA’s public criticism, AECB commissioned an independent review of the health effects of radon, radium, and other alpha-emitting materials.  They hired a McGill epidemiologist, Duncan C. Thomas, and a physicist from the University of Toronto, K.G. McNeill, and told them to use only raw data from studies of exposed populations to arrive at the best scientific estimates of cancers caused by radon, radium, and other alpha-emitting materials.

 

The Thomas/McNeill Report, entitled “Risk Estimates for the 
Health Effects of Alpha Radiation”, was published by the AECB in 1982 as INFO-0081.  They concluded that the proposed radon standard for Elliot Lake homes could increase the lifetime lung cancer risk by about 40 percent – 22 extra lung cancers per 1000.  See http://ccnr.org/thomas_report.html .

The Thomas/McNeill Report also found that if uranium miners were to work at the regulatory limit for 11 years, the number of lung cancer deaths in that group of people would double. “Our best estimate of the effect of a 50-year occupational exposure [at the maximum permissible levels] is 130 excess lung cancer deaths per 1000 . . . with a range from 60 to 250 per 1000.” 

 

If workers were to average only 1/10 of that limit in their radon exposures, then the number of excess lung cancers would also be reduced by a factor 10.  Still, the Thomas/McNeill “best estimate” would yield an increase of 13 lung cancers per 1000 miners so exposed, and their most pessimistic estimate would give 45 extra lung cancers per 1000.  

 

(5) Estimated radon-induced lung cancer deaths among uranium miners today

The CNSC has testified that under modern working conditions in the Canadian context, the radon exposures of uranium miners are so low that no “discernible” lung cancers would occur. 

The CCNR agrees that if CNSC refuses to gather health statistics on the exposed miners, or fails to update those records for many decades to come, then the excess lung cancers that will occur among these workers will surely not be discernible.  This protects the industry, but it does not protect the miners who are likely to experience at least 10 to 20 radon-induced lung cancers per 1000 workers during a 50-year working lifetime. The toll may in fact be much higher.

 

According to CNSC publication INFO-0813, the average 2006 radiation exposure for Canadian workers in underground uranium mines was 1.74 millisieverts (mSv).  If this annual exposure rate were to persist for 50 years, the cumulative average exposure for underground uranium miners would be 1.74 x 50 = 87 mSv during a 50-year working lifetime.

 

According to the finding of the Thomas/McNeill Report that level of radon exposure would cause a 40 percent increase in lung cancer incidence (77 per 1000 as opposed to 55 per 1000).

 

Conclusion

Canadian authorities have consistently misled Canadians – including uranium workers, members of the public, decision-makers and their official advisors – about the extent of the dangers of radon as well as other alpha emitting radioactive materials.  In particular, existing standards of radon exposure in homes as well as existing levels of radon exposures in uranium mines pose serious health risks to those exposed for their working lifetimes. 

 

 

Supervisor to host meeting on Mountain Valley Pipeline

By TIM DAVIS
Star-Tribune Editor | Posted: Tuesday, November 25, 2014 9:53 am

Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors member Jerry Hagerman will host a community information meeting on the proposed Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline Saturday, Nov. 29, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gretna Volunteer Fire Department.

Hagerman, who represents the Callands-Gretna District, said Norfolk attorney Joseph T. Waldo will discuss and answer questions about landowners’ rights.

Hagerman met Waldo, who specializes in property rights and eminent domain, at a Preserve the New River Valley meeting on the pipeline in Blacksburg and invited the attorney to speak in Gretna.

“Several people have called me wanting more information about the pipeline,” Hagerman said. “A lot of the questions, I didn’t really feel qualified to answer.”

The supervisor said landowners want to know how much compensation they can expect and what their rights if they don’t want the pipeline on their property.

Hagerman said he hasn’t contacted Mountain Valley Pipeline representatives, but the company is welcome to attend the meeting.

EQT Corp. and NextEra Energy, which plan to build the 300-mile pipeline, have scheduled a community open house Monday, Dec. 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Hampton Inn on McBride Lane in Gretna.

The public will have an opportunity to ask questions and talk with project team members about the pipeline.

EQT and NextEra announced plans for the pipeline earlier this year and are seeking approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The pipeline would run from Wetzel County, W. Va., through southwest Virginia to Pittsylvania County and connect with Williams’ Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company’s compressor station in Chatham.

Estimated to cost $3 billion to $3.5 billion, the pipeline would pass through Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke, Franklin, and Pittsylvania counties.

Community meetings also are scheduled Dec. 16 at the Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount, Dec. 17 at Salem Civic Center, and Dec. 18 in Blacksburg.

Additional open houses will be scheduled in January 2015, the companies said.

Natalie Cox, a spokesman with EQT in Pittsburgh, Pa., said the project includes 15 to 20 miles of pipeline in the county and will affect about 120 landowners.

For more information, visit mountainvalleypipeline.info or call 844-MVP-Talk.
tim.davis@chathamstartribune.com
http://www.chathamstartribune.com/news/article_e6a5b5b0-74b2-11e4-a5c8-c7028c37fee8.html?mode=print
434-432-2791

Local Citizens Group Granted Voice in Coal Ash Pollution Cases Against Duke Energy’s Mayo and Hyco Lake Facilities

~~CHAPEL HILL, N.C.— A North Carolina Superior Court has allowed the Roanoke River Basin Association, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, to participate as a full party in an enforcement action with respect to two Duke Energy coal ash sites near the Virginia border: Roxboro Steam Station in Person County on Hyco Lake and Mayo Steam Station on Mayo Lake near Roxboro.  As a full party, RRBA will have the same rights as Duke Energy and DENR in the litigation.

“The state failed to ensure safe storage of Duke’s coal ash at 10 out of 14 sites, so citizen conservation groups have stepped in to finish the job,” said Frank Holleman, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “Every one of Duke Energy’s coal ash pits is illegally polluting North Carolina’s waters, and citizens are now enforcing the law at every single one of these sites.”

Numerous conservation groups are participating in the state court enforcement action for all the Duke Energy coal ash sites around North Carolina; RRBA previously joined the enforcement action as to the Dan River site, where Duke Energy’s disastrous coal ash spill occurred in February. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources brought the statewide enforcement actions last year in response to a Clean Water Act notice sent by the Southern Environmental Law Center on behalf of Cape Fear River Watch, Waterkeeper Alliance, and the Sierra Club.

“Duke stores a huge proportion its coal ash in leaking, unlined pits in the Roanoke River basin, and we must make certain that DENR takes the appropriate action to fix the problem,” said RRBA President Gene Addesso. “We will fight to ensure Duke is held accountable for illegally polluting the rivers and lakes of the Roanoke basin and that Duke’s coal ash is removed to lined, dry storage.”

The coal ash dams at both Roxboro and Mayo are High Hazard dams according to the state of North Carolina.  Duke stores 6.9 million tons of coal ash at its Mayo plant and 16.4 million tons at its Roxboro plant.  Scientists from Duke University have found elevated levels of arsenic and other coal ash pollution in Hyco Lake and Mayo Lake in recent years.  Fish deformities due to selenium coal ash poisoning have been found in Mayo Lake, and in 2008 a coal ash dam at Roxboro suffered a structural failure.

The coal ash legislation passed by the N.C. General Assembly this summer would allow DENR and a politically-appointed commission to decide whether coal ash can remain in place at these sites.  A federal criminal grand jury is investigating DENR’s relationship with Duke Energy.

###
About the Roanoke River Basin Association
The Roanoke River Basin Association is a non-profit organization based in Danville, Virginia, whose mission is to establish and carry out a strategy for the development, use, preservation and enhancement of the resources of the Roanoke River system of lakes and streams in the best interest of present and future generations.  RRBA consists of hundreds of members, primarily located within the 410-mile-long Roanoke River basin in Virginia and North Carolina, including local governments; non-profit, civic and community organizations; regional government entities; businesses and individuals.    http://prod.rrba.org/
.
About the Southern Environmental Law Center
The Southern Environmental Law Center is a regional nonprofit using the power of the law to protect the health and environment of the Southeast (Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama). Founded in 1986, SELC's team of more than 60 legal and policy experts represent more than 100 partner groups on issues of climate change and energy, air and water quality, forests, the coast and wetlands, transportation, and land use.
www.SouthernEnvironment.org

https://www.southernenvironment.org/news-and-press/press-releases/coal-ash-pollution-cases-against-duke-energy

Meeting: Mountain Valley Pipeline – Presentation on gas line project

PITTSYLVANIA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

REGULAR MEETING

 

 

 

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2014

GENERAL DISTRICT COURTROOM

EDWIN R. SHIELDS COURTHOUSE ADDITION

AGENDA

1. Call to Order – 7:00 p.m.

2. Roll Call

3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Items to be added to the Agenda

(a)

APPROVAL OF AGENDA

HEARING OF CITIZENS

CONSENT AGENDA

5. (a) Minutes: October 1, 2014 – Work Session

October 6, 2014 – Regular Meeting

October 7, 2014 – Work Session

October 21, 2014 – Adjourned Meeting

(b) Bill List – October 2014 (Online)

(c) Holiday Time

(d) Fire & Rescue Insurance – Statement by Public Body

PUBLIC HEARINGS

6. Public Hearing to receive citizen input on a proposed amendment to Pittsylvania County Code ("PCC") § 8-4.1, Term of Office that would with incorporate staggered terms for the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors beginning the November 2015 General Election.

7. Public Hearing to receive citizen input on proposed amendments to Pittsylvania County Code ("PCC") § 9-54, Failure to Pay License Fee, Personal Property Tax, Etc.; Penalty. Specifically, the following amendments are proposed to § 9-54 (A) and (B) to include license fees and/or personal property taxes that would be considered delinquent after June 5; and § 9-54 (C) § 9-54 violations of to be reduced from a Class 4 misdemeanor with a $250 fine to a civil fine of 25.

PRESENTATIONS

8. Mountain Valley Pipeline – Presentation on gas line project

9. Danville-Pittsylvania Community Services Board FY2013/14 Annual Report

& Annual Services Contract

10. Delinquent Tax Collections – M. Kate Berger, Treasurer

11. Economic Development Strategy Plan – Staff presentation

NEW BUSINESS

12. Request for Public Hearing – Proposed First Responder Fees

13. Department of Motor Vehicles – Pet Friendly Tags Fund

14. Appropriation for Feasibility Analysis – Tank Museum

APPOINTMENTS

15. Nominations – Pittsylvania County Building Code Board of Appeals; Chatham/Blairs, Staunton River, and Tunstall Electoral Districts

BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS

REPORTS FROM LEGAL COUNSEL

REPORTS FROM COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR

ADJOURNMENT

Dominion , on behalf of its joint venture partners in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, today submitted a request to begin the pre-filing process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking the commission to begin its environmental review of t…

Dominion Asks FERC To Begin Environmental Review Of Atlantic Coast Pipeline

 

Published: October 31, 2014 04:01 PM
PRNewswire PRNewswire The Providence Journal
Published: October 31 2014 04:01

RICHMOND, Va., Oct. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion , on behalf of its joint venture partners in the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, today submitted a request to begin the pre-filing process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), asking the commission to begin its environmental review of the proposed $4.5 billion to $5 billion, 550-mile natural gas pipeline.

Four major U.S. energy companies - Dominion, Duke Energy , Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources - plan to build and own the pipeline, which would run from Harrison County, W.Va., southeast through Virginia with an extension to Chesapeake, Va., and then south through eastern North Carolina to Robeson County. The pipeline would help meet the growing clean energy needs of Virginia and North Carolina by providing direct access to the burgeoning natural gas production in the Marcellus and Utica shale basins of West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio.

"The broad and enthusiastic support we have received since announcing the project last month is further evidence of how important the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is to the future of the region," said Diane Leopold, president of the company's Dominion Energy business unit. "Along with creating thousands of jobs and millions of dollars in new tax revenues for states and localities, it can act as a catalyst for future economic development, help stabilize energy prices for consumers and businesses, and promote cleaner air."

Govs. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, Earl Ray Tomblin of West Virginia and Pat McCrory of North Carolina each talked about the economic growth and jobs that are expected to occur along the pipeline when the project was announced Sept. 2. More than 30 federal, state, and local elected officials, and chamber of commerce or economic development groups have provided letters of support or passed resolutions in favor of the project. In addition, more than 5,500 letters of support have been received by elected officials in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.

A study by Chmura Economics & Analytics estimates that the project can generate a total of $2.7 billion in economic impact from 2014 through 2019 in the three-state region, supporting 17,240 cumulative jobs.

The project also promises significant environmental benefits. Much of the natural gas to be transported by the pipeline will replace coal in the generation of electricity -- a transition that's already well under way in both Virginia and North Carolina as older, less efficient coal units are retired.

Natural gas burns cleaner than coal and emits about half the carbon dioxide.

From 2008 to 2013, demand for gas-fired electric power generation grew by 459 percent in North Carolina and 123 percent in Virginia. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's 2014 Annual Energy Outlook reported that overall, demand for natural gas for all uses grew by 50 and 37 percent in North Carolina and Virginia, respectively, between 2008 and 2012.

The extensive FERC review process that begins with pre-filing solicits input from numerous local, state and federal entities, and private citizens. Public safety, air quality, water resources, geology, soils, wildlife and vegetation, threatened and endangered species, land and visual resources, cultural and historic resources, noise, cumulative impacts and reasonable alternatives are fully examined. The project will need the approvals of 40 federal, state and local regulatory agencies before construction can begin.

"This is the formal beginning of a comprehensive and detailed review process by the FERC and other agencies that will examine this project from every angle," Leopold said. "It is an open process with many opportunities for participation by the public."

In the pre-filing request to the FERC, Dominion noted it has begun a wide-ranging outreach and education program for stakeholders.

So far, the program has included 13 informational open houses along the route attended by more than 3,600 people. Additional open houses will be scheduled for January 2015, followed by FERC-led scoping meetings shortly thereafter.

Informational packets also will be mailed to about 5,500 property owners along the proposed pipeline route and within a half-mile of potential compressor station locations.

Dominion is surveying to determine the best route, one that meets operational and reliability needs while minimizing the impact on the environment as well as historical and cultural resources.

The company expects to file its FERC application next summer, receive the FERC Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in the summer of 2016 and begin construction shortly thereafter. The pipeline is expected to be in service by late 2018.

The main pipeline would have a 42-inch diameter in West Virginia and Virginia, reducing to 36 inches in diameter in North Carolina. Virginia and North Carolina have limited access to supplies from the Marcellus and Utica shales and have a need for increased infrastructure to support growing demand for natural gas-fired generation, and to add supply diversity for reliability and price stability.

More information about the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is available on the Web at dom.com/acpipeline and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/acpipeline

.
More information about the FERC pre-filing process is available at http://www.ferc.gov/help/processes/flow/gas-4.asp
 and http://www.ferc.gov/help/faqs/prefiling.asp
 .
About DominionDominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 23,600 megawatts of generation, 10,900 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,400 miles of electric transmission lines. Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 947 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves utility and retail energy customers in 10 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com
.
Media contact: Frank Mack, (804) 771-3141; frank.mack@dom.com
 Investor contact: Kristy Babcock, (804) 819-2492; kristy.r.babcock@dom.com

About Duke EnergyDuke Energy is the largest electric power holding company in the United States with approximately $115 billion in total assets. Its regulated utility operations serve approximately 7.2 million electric customers located in six states in the Southeast and Midwest. Its commercial power and international energy business segments own and operate diverse power generation assets in North America and Latin America, including a growing portfolio of renewable energy assets in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Duke Energy is a Fortune 250 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol DUK. More information about the company is available at: www.duke-energy.com
.
Media contact: Dave Scanzoni, (800) 559-3853Investor contact: Bill Currens, (704) 382-1603
About Piedmont Natural GasPiedmont Natural Gas is an energy services company primarily engaged in the distribution of natural gas to more than one million residential, commercial, industrial and power generation utility customers in portions of North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee, including customers served by municipalities who are wholesale customers. Our subsidiaries are invested in joint venture, energy-related businesses, including unregulated retail natural gas marketing, and regulated interstate natural gas transportation and storage, and regulated intrastate natural gas transportation businesses. More information about Piedmont Natural Gas is available on the Internet at http://www.piedmontng.com
/.
Media contact: David Trusty, (704) 731-4391, david.trusty@piedmontng.com
 Investor contact: Nick Giaimo, (704) 731-4952, nicholas.giaimo@piedmontng.com

About AGL Resources AGL Resources is an Atlanta-based energy services holding company with operations in natural gas distribution, retail operations, wholesale services and midstream operations. AGL Resources serves approximately 4.5 million utility customers through its regulated distribution subsidiaries in seven states. The company also serves approximately 630,000 retail energy customers and approximately 1.2 million customer service contracts through its SouthStar Energy Services joint venture and Pivotal Home Solutions, which market natural gas and related home services. Other non-utility businesses include asset management for natural gas wholesale customers through Sequent Energy Management and ownership and operation of natural gas storage facilities. AGL Resources is a member of the S&P 500 Index. For more information, visit www.aglresources.com
Media contact: Tami Gerke, (404) 584-3873, tgerke@aglresources.com
 Investor contact: Steve Cave, (404) 584-3801, scave@aglresources.com

This news release includes certain "forward-looking information." Examples include information as to our expectations, beliefs, plans, goals, objectives and future financial or other performance or assumptions concerning matters discussed in this release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the forward-looking statements may accompany the statements themselves. In addition, our business is influenced by many factors that are difficult to predict, involve uncertainties that may materially affect actual results and are often beyond our ability to control or estimate precisely, such as estimates of future market conditions, access to and costs of capital, the receipt of regulatory approvals for, and timing of, planned projects and compliance with conditions associated with such regulatory approvals, and the ability to complete planned construction or expansion projects within the terms and timeframes initially anticipated. We have identified and will in the future identify a number of these factors in our SEC Reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. We refer you to those discussions for further information. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which it is made.
http://www.providencejournal.com/business/press-releases/20141031-dominion-asks-ferc-to-begin-environmental-review-of-atlantic-coast-pipeline.ece
 

Mountain Valley Pipeline sponsors have submitted a pre-filing request to FERC.

Also for your future reference, the Docket No. is PF15-3. All the docs and correspondence filed in regard to this project can be accessed through eLibrary at
FERC General Search:  http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/search/results.asp

Category/ Accession	Doc Date/ Filed Date	Docket Number	Description	Class/ Type	Files Size
Submittal 20141029-5000	10/28/2014 10/29/2014	PF15-3-000	Comment of Kirsti Kaldro in Docket(s)/Project(s) PF15-3. Submission Date: 10/28/2014 Availability: Public	Comments/Protest / Comment on Filing	Text     0K  FERC Generated PDF     8K	INFO FILE
Submittal 20141029-5005	10/28/2014 10/29/2014	PF15-3-000	Comment of Kirsti Kaldro concerning the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project under PF15-3. Availability: Public	Comments/Protest / Comment on Filing	Word     13K  FERC Generated PDF     7K	INFO FILE
Submittal 20141029-5085	10/29/2014 10/29/2014	PF15-3-000	Comment of William Corn in Docket(s)/Project(s) PF15-3-000 Submission Date: 10/29/2014 Availability: Public	Comments/Protest / Comment on Filing	Text     0K  FERC Generated PDF     7K	INFO FILE
Submittal 20141027-0030	10/22/2014 10/27/2014	PF15-3-000	Comments of Tom Hoffman re the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project under PF15-3. Availability: Public	Comments/Protest / Comment on Filing	Image     33K  FERC Generated PDF     42K	INFO FILE
Submittal 20141027-0033	10/20/2014 10/27/2014	PF15-3-000	Comments of Sharon Parker re the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline Project under PF15-3. Availability: Public	Comments/Protest / Comment on Filing	Image     47K  FERC Generated PDF     57K	INFO FILE
Submittal 20141027-0034	10/19/2014 10/27/2014	PF15-3-000	Comments of Robert K. Johnson et al re the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline Project under PF15-3. Availability: Public	Comments/Protest / Comment on Filing	Image     35K  FERC Generated PDF     43K	INFO FILE
Submittal 20141027-5073	10/27/2014 10/27/2014	PF15-3-000	Report of Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC Request to Initiate NEPA Pre-Filing Process under PF15-3. Availability: Public	Report/Form / 157.207 Annual Construction Report	PDF     401K  PDF     284K  PDF     39K  PDF     76K  PDF     89K  PDF     142K  FERC Generated PDF     1060K	INFO FILE
Submittal 20141027-5136	10/27/2014 10/27/2014	PF15-3-000	Pre-Filing Request of Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC Pre-Filing Request under PF15-3. Availability: Public	Applicant Correspondence / Supplemental/Additional Information	PDF     217K  PDF     284K  PDF     39K  PDF     76K  PDF     89K  PDF     142K  FERC Generated PDF     905K	INFO

Pipelines Meetings: Understanding Your Legal Rights – Mountain Valley Pipeline: October 28 @ 7:00 pm, Mountain Valley Pipeline Issues /Factory Chicken: Meeting Oct. 27 6 PM will provide information to potential contract growers, Meeting Oct. 28 6:30 PM will have an overview of how a poultry complex would affect the community with Q&A.

Pipelines Meetings: Understanding Your Legal Rights – Mountain Valley Pipeline: October 28 @ 7:00 pm,  Mountain Valley Pipeline Issues  /

Factory Chicken Farms Meetings:  Meeting Oct. 27 6 PM will provide information to potential contract growers

From KM:  Please be aware of the important informational meetings below.  Forward the information to other you know to be on or near proposed pipeline paths.

There are some websites and blogs that aid in understanding impacts of fracking gas pipe lines and your rights (or lack thereof) as a property owner.  One such website is http://preservethenrv.com/  This is the homepage. 

Make sure to click the tabs at the top to access pertinent information. http://prideva.blogspot.com/ also has information.

Trying to keep up with the plethora of Proposed Pipelines in Pittsylvania (PPP) is becoming quite a task.  The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) proposed path includes the counties of Giles, Pulaski, Montgomery, Roanoke, Franklin and Pittsylvania.  Floyd County was considered initially, but later dropped.  The Pipeline reps. said it was due to trying to avoid scenic issues like the Appalachian trail and Blue Ridge Parkway.  However, early opposition from Floyd residents and Supervisors and the desire to protect their water was fierce.  Other counties along the route are taking notice, educating themselves, asking questions and favoring opposition as well.

This weeks Star Tribune reports that the pipeline will cover 15-20 miles in Pittsylvania and will affect about 120 land owners.  The article quotes pipeline spokesperson Natalie Cox. The article states that Cox said that companies are seeking permission to walk properties and stake routes.  

She also said (according to the article) that company representatives have talked with county officials and are looking forward to starting a dialogue with landowners.  RED FLAG...There was no notice on any agenda (in open or closed session) for Pittsylvania County that show evidence of such a meeting with county officials.  Even so, it appears some supervisors have met with MVP reps. in groups of less than 3 to avoid public notice.  Also odd is Cox stating that they are seeking permission to walk properties and then says are looking forward to starting a dialogue with landowners!!!  Sounds like putting the cart before the horse.

 

Meeting:  Understanding Your Legal Rights – Mountain Valley Pipeline

Time: 7:00 pm October 28

Blacksburg Unitarian Universalist Congregation Church

1301 Gladewood Drive NW,Blacksburg,VA United States

Joe Lovett (Executive Director of Appalachian Mountain Advocates), Isaac Howell (a FERC expert in Roanoke), and Elise Keaton (director of Keeper of the Mountains Foundation in WV) will be here to provide information specifically on the Mountain Valley Pipeline as to how we can proceed and helping us understand our legal rights (although they cannot solicit legal clients or recommend specific legal counsel). They can provide us information on how to proceed with FERC as well as other government agencies involved in regulating natural gas distribution. They will also be able to assist us in organizing locally and with other groups they are helping in Virginia and West Virginia. While their presentation is free, donations to fund their work as a non-profit are appreciated.
Date: October 28

 

Meeting:  Mountain Valley Pipeline Issues

Tuesday October 28 At 12 PM - 2:30 PM

 

 

At the Franklin County Library

355 Franklin St., Rocky Mount, VA

It's time to organize! Next Tuesday, at noon, at the Franklin County Library, we will gather to discuss issues related to the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline.

Affected landowners will be present as well as supportive allies to assist in the formation of a strong group to coordinate, educate, and inspire people to take action.

If you're interested in helping, please join us!

 

 

 

 

SONGS OF SOCIAL SIGNIFICANCE - David Rovics Plays for People, Peace and Planet

Monday at 7:00pm

16 West Marketplace in Roanoke, Virginia

Monday night at 7:00pm, come see in concert David Rovics, a living legend in the activist community, and meet volunteers working for peace (from sponsor Plowshare Peace Center), for many progressive causes (from sponsor P.A.N.O.R.), and for stopping the Mountain Valley Pipeline (from Floyd, Montgomery, Franklin, and of course Roanoke counties).
Because stopping the pipeline is an urgent issue facing our region right now, the main focus of this concert will be on raising awareness and support for this cause. So come on out, hear amazing activism-driven music, and make connections with great people and great causes!

 

POOP:   Pittsylvania County Meetings

 

February of this year an amendment to Pittsylvania's zoning ordinance was proposed to lay the groundwork to abolish R-1 (residential) designations in favor of R-A (residential agriculture.  This would increase minimum lot size, allow sludge to be spread near your property line and restrict your ability to use your property to accommodate the sludge spreaders.  Why?  It looks like Pittsylvania has some big proponents of a "poultry complex"  which would include a hatchery, feed mill and processing plant and approximately 100 contract growers within about a 50 mile radius of the feed mill and processing plant.  So, there will be a lot of sludge (some classified as industrial) to spread around.  This should leave everyone's well water in tip-top shape!

 

Posted on: October 16, 2014

Interested in Being a Contract Poultry Grower?

A meeting will be held at the Old Dominion Agricultural Complex

 at Chatham, VA

on October 27 at 6:00 pm

 for people interested in becoming a poultry contract grower. The purpose of the meeting is to provide an overview of what is involved in being a contract poultry grower and to help gauge interest in being a contract grower. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. A short survey will handed out at the end of the meeting. Responses will be anonymous.
 

http://www.pittgov.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=20

 

Posted on: October 16, 2014

Poultry Complex Feasibility Study:  Meeting: 

A public meeting will be held at the Old Dominion Agricultural Complex

at Chatham, VA

on October 28 at 6:30 pm.

The purpose of the meeting is to get input for a study determining the feasibility of locating a poultry complex in Pittsylvania County. An overview of how a poultry complex would affect the community will be provided followed by a question and answer session. A short survey will be handed out at the end of the meeting. Responses will be anonymous.
This meeting is part of a study funded by the Pittsylvania County Board of Supervisors to determine the feasibility of locating a poultry complex in Pittsylvania County. The study and meeting are being conducted by BR Bock Consulting, Inc. A poultry complex would include a hatchery, feed mill, and processing plant in Pittsylvania County, and approximately 100 contract growers within about a 50-mile radius of the feed mill and processing plant. Major considerations in the study are infrastructure, workforce, environmental, potential contract grower base, and public acceptance.

 

 

Meeting Oct. 27 6 PM will provide information to potential contract growers

Meeting Oct. 28 6:30 PM will have an overview of how a poultry complex would affect the community with Q&A.

 

The meetings are to seek public input on a county poultry study that is being funded by the county ($10,000) and the Gov.'s Agriculture and Forestry Development Fund ($10,000). The study and meeting are being conducted by BR Bock.  Please visit their website http://brbock.com/index.html  The only thing Bock seems to study is how to make the most out of  poo  We in Pittsylvania County will be in a world of  **it and your tax dollars will have funded the study designed to make it happen. 

 

 

Dominion starts making adjustments to pipeline route

BY BRIAN CARLTON The (Waynesboro) News Virginian | Posted: Saturday, October 25, 2014 7:45 pm

WAYNESBORO — More letters are going out to property owners in Virginia, as Dominion Resources makes adjustments to the proposed route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. Company officials said the plan underwent what they call a “minor” rerouting after several public meetings were held over the last two months.

 

“We have an initial route, which we continue to modify based on important and ongoing feedback from landowners and other interested parties,” said Frank Mack, manager of Dominion Transmission Communications. “There have been some minor route adjustments, based on what our surveyors have found and what landowners have requested.”

 

As of this week, letters had gone out to property owners of 3,265 tracts across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina, asking permission for Dominion employees to survey the property. Now, that number has climbed to 3,331.

 

Out of the new total, Dominion records show that 72 percent of landowners have given the company permission to survey and 12 percent have declined. Mack said discussions continue with the remaining 16 percent of property owners.

 

Actual purchase of the right-of-way easements is expected to take place in the spring, Mack said. Right now, he said, the focus is on getting permission to survey all of the properties.

 

The company surveys individual properties to avoid running into issues such as a family cemetery plot, which both Mack and fellow Dominion spokesman Jim Norvelle said in the past the company would not go through. That’s one of the examples given of why the pipeline has been rerouted.

Mack said the route through Augusta and Nelson counties has gone through some minor changes, but more alterations could be on the way. Dominion plans to hold open houses to discuss the changes with residents in early 2015, Mack said, ahead of additional meetings that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will call for, as the official application for the project is filed. A final “preferred” route is expected to be ready to present to FERC by the summer, he said.

The public can express its views on the pipeline once FERC takes it under consideration. Tamara Young-Allen, a spokeswoman for FERC, cautioned people not to expect the same route and overall project by the end of the process.

“No pipeline project looks the same from when it’s first proposed to when FERC issues its final recommendation,” Young-Allen said.

Dominion is currently in the pre-filing process. Once that’s done and the application has been submitted, FERC then lets the people know they can offer comment or testify before the commission as what’s known as an “intervener.”

“Anyone who can show that no one else can represent their views can intervene,” Young-Allen said. “These people are the ones who take a formal stand about the pipeline before the commission. They have the ability to appeal the commission decisions, as well.”

While testimony is being heard, the project also is being evaluated by FERC staffers. They look at any potential problems with the current plan, as well as alternatives to the proposed route.

This isn’t a short process and an answer won’t be quick in coming, Young-Allen said. Normally, it takes between 12 to 18 months to get a decision, with the clock starting after a company has filed a formal application.

A map of the revised route is not yet available for viewing.

http://www.dailyprogress.com/news/local/dominion-starts-making-adjustments-to-pipeline-route/article_f7c0f8f2-5ca0-11e4-96b6-001a4bcf6878.html

 

Dominion starts adjusting pipeline route

By BRIAN CARLTON The News-Virginian | Posted: Friday, October 24, 2014 10:30 pm
WAYNESBORO — More letters are going out to property owners in Virginia this week, as Dominion Resources Inc. adjusts the proposed route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project.
Company officials said the plan underwent what they call a “minor” rerouting after a series of public meetings held over the past two months.

“We have an initial route, which we continue to modify based on important and ongoing feedback from landowners and other interested parties,” said Frank Mack, a spokesman for Dominion Transmission, a subsidiary of Dominion Resources. “There have been some minor route adjustments, based on what our surveyors have found and what landowners have requested.”

Dominion Resources is forming a joint venture with three other major energy companies to build and own a $4.5 billion to $5 billion, 550-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina. Letters have gone out to property owners of 3,331 tracts across the three states, asking permission for Dominion employees to survey the property.

Dominion records show that 72 percent of landowners have given the company permission to survey and 12.1 percent have declined. Mack said discussions continue with the remaining 15.9 percent of property owners. Actual purchase of the right of way easements is expected to take place in the spring.

Mack said the focus now is getting permission to survey all the properties. Company officials need to survey individual properties to avoid running into such issues as family cemetery plots, which the company has said it will not go through. That’s an example given of why the pipeline has been rerouted.

Dominion plans to hold additional open houses in early 2015 to discuss changes with residents, Mack said.  A final “preferred” route is expected to be ready to present to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by summer 2015, he said.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/business/energy/dominion-starts-adjusting-pipeline-route/article_044594ef-230a-51f1-8f8d-d7735af0f3c5.html