Dear Secretary Boergers,
I am a citizen of Floyd County, Virginia, which Dominion Transmission Inc. plans to bisect for the Greenbriar Pipeline Project. This proposed pipeline is also planned to run through Patrick, Montgomery and Giles Counties in Virginia on its way from West Virginia to North Carolina. I do not have property directly affected by this gas line, but I am taking this opportunity to voice my opposition to it.
I understand that the possibility exists that the pipeline could adversely affect the quality of our groundwater, and that in the event of a rupture of the line containing gas pressurized at over 1,000 pounds per square inch our emergency response capability here in Floyd County would be overwhelmed, even if the gas did not ignite. How can Dominion realistically assure us that someone will shut off the gas, from over 70 miles away, before major damage is done?
The gas line will create a major scar going right through the center of our county, already burdened with powerlines, from which, like the proposed gas line, we derive no benefit. As an Appalachian community, lately abandoned by industry, our best hope of having a standard of living as good as that of the planned consumers of this gas is to have a locality favored by tourists. A gas line would severely impact that scenario.
I urge you to keep in mind the damage that will be inflicted on us by this gas line, conservation measures that can reduce the need for the line, and alternative ways to implement the line by combining it with existing facilities.
Most sincerely,