The News Virginian

Letter to the Editor

I am disappointed that Mr. Limpert is allowed to ramble on for hundreds of words slandering the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, despite the dubiousness of some of his claims and the minimal risk all natural gas pipelines pose.

These pipes aren’t just placed into the ground. Why would any company investing billions into a project use any pipe that has vulnerabilities? They wouldn’t.

Here are the safety facts. The pipe is inspected at each weld with x-ray equipment to make sure each weld is secure. After welds are inspected for integrity, the entire pipeline is pressure tested with water at up to 1.5 times the maximum operating pressure, to make sure the pipeline and welds are secure. Hundreds of inspectors will be on site every day, to ensure every phase of construction meets the requirements and conditions of the various permits that will apply to the project.

And once in operation, the pipeline is closely monitored 24/7, 365 days a year at Dominion Energy's Gas Control Center. At all times the pressure, temperature and flow are monitored.

In the five years since the project was announced, the need for affordable and reliable natural gas has not diminished. And today, as unemployment is nearing 15% and localities searching for ways to balance their budgets during the coronavirus crisis, projects like this are essential to jumpstarting and rebuilding the economy. This project is even more essential to Virginia and North Carolina than it was when it was proposed, and I look forward to the resumption of construction after the Supreme Court grants a favorable opinion later this year.

God bless America and President Donald Trump.

Tom McDonald, Waynesboro

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