Study: Atlantic Coast Pipeline could cost Virginia counties $7.9B

Dive Brief:

A new study released this week by Key-Log Economics casts doubt on the projected costs and benefits of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, finding four counties in the west and central portions of Virginia could wind up with billions of dollars in long term impacts, Smart Grid News reports.
The $5.1 billion system will transport gas supplies from West Virginia to North Carolina, and supporters believe it can help East Coast states meet new environmental regulations. The project is being developed by Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources.
But four Virginia counties – Highland, Augusta, Nelson and Buckingham – could see almost $8 billion in total costs when after factoring in the long-term impacts of job losses, property value declines and lower incomes, according to the new study.

Dive Insight:

Five groups opposing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline commissioned a study which finds shocking negative impacts from the proposed pipeline, with four Virginia counties potentially shouldering $6.9 to $7.9 billion in costs.

"In Highland County annual costs to the local economy are estimated to be $7 million or higher, much larger than the projected benefits that would come to the county, including tax revenues paid by the pipeline," Lewis Freeman, Chair of the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance and President of Highlanders for Responsible Development, said in a statement.

"Adverse impacts on property values, which have already been negatively affected by the prospect of the project, will be significant," Freeman said. "Also negatively impacted will be travel and tourism, which account for one-fifth of the county's employment."

In Augusta County, where the project would run about 50 miles of pipeline, the study estimates total property value lost would be approximately $44.5 million, resulting in an annual reduction in taxes of $209,061.

“Those figures, while conservative and not inclusive of the new route through the Deerfield Valley, are based on loss of subdivision and development potential, loss of property value and property marketability because of proximity to the pipeline, damage to water resources, and a reduction in agricultural production to name just some of the factors that went into the calculation,” Nancy Sorrells, Chair of the Augusta County Alliance, said in a statement.

Other groups involved in commissioning the report include Friends of Nelson, Friends of Buckingham, Virginia, and Yogaville Environmental Solutions.

Federal regulators last year directed the 594-mile pipeline to develop route alternatives. This week, Dominion said it submitted a supplemental filing formally adopting an alternate route through the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests.

This newly adopted route was selected to avoid certain wildlife species and "will add approximately 30 miles to the total length of the project," Dominion said. "It impacts new landowners in Randolph, Pocahontas counties in West Virginia; and Highland, Bath and Augusta counties in Virginia."