Appalachian Voices
Revamped energy bill alleviates some concerns, but would still burden Duke Energy’s low-income ratepayers
The North Carolina General Assembly's super-secret energy legislation, House Bill 951, has been overhauled since a group of special interests — Duke Energy, primarily — hashed out a 47-page opus six months ago. Now at a slim 10 pages, some of the most obvious giveaways to utilities have been eliminated, including legislative mandates for new natural gas and nuclear plants.
Federal court rules that DEQ acted legally in denying MVP Southgate permit, but must explain itself
State environmental officials acted within their legal authority when denying a water quality permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate project, but part of their justification was insufficient, a federal appeals court ruled yesterday. A three-judge panel from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Virginia struck the denial and sent it back to the […]
PW exclusive: The death of a pipeline
After years of effort, opponents of the cancelled Atlantic Coast Pipeline celebrate, reflect and look to the future Belinda Joyner had returned from Sunday church and was settling in for the afternoon when she heard the news. “Is this real?” Joyner asked her friend, who sent an email with the official announcement. “Yes,” her friend replied.
Pipeline news: Dominion requests 2-year extension for ACP; feds approve MVP
Construction on the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline won’t be complete until 2022, Dominion Energy told federal regulators last week in its request for a two-year extension. Dominion and Duke Energy, co-owners of the ACP, originally projected construction would be finished in 2019. Multiple legal challenges and permitting issues have added to the delays, as well […]
DEQ denies water quality permit for MVP Southgate natural gas pipeline
The Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate project encountered another setback this week, when the NC Department of Environmental Quality rejected a key water quality permit, a federal requirement for the plan to continue. Although DEQ had repeatedly asked for information for more than six months, MVP Southgate hadn’t provided a full accounting of stream crossings and […]
Over widespread opposition, DEQ approves key water quality permit for Atlantic Coast Pipeline
This post has been updated with an announcement from Gov. Roy Cooper. For more than a year, environmental and citizens’ groups have battled against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. But today, the NC Department of Environmental Quality granted a key permit that will allow the project to begin its 160-mile route through the state. DEQ’s Division […]
Duke Energy, ready to build the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, goes to the top: Gov. Cooper
This post has been updated to include comment from Duke Energy. Anxious to begin cutting trees and clearing land to build the North Carolina portion of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Duke Energy has approached Gov. Roy Cooper’s office about the status of its permits, Policy Watch has confirmed. However, the utility did not use litigation […]
Bye, bye buffers: Former DENR official explains what demise of water protection rules will mean
Former state environmental official and current Appalachian Voices advocate Amy Adams (whose coal ash-covered hand graced hundreds of articles in the aftermath of the Dan River disaster last year) has written a highly instructive and disturbing explanation of the proposal in the current “regulatory reform” bill wending its way through the General Assembly to, in […]
ICYMI: Duke’s Dan River coal ash disaster: What happened? How big is the problem? What’s next? (Full Video)
For those who missed this week’s NC Policy Watch Crucial Conversation with Appalachian Voices’ Amy Adams and State Rep. Pricey Harrison, the full program is now available online. Please watch and then share – Duke’s Dan River coal ash disaster: What happened? How big is the problem? What’s next? – See more at: