On Wednesday, August 5, the Chatham County Board of Commissioners held a special meeting to hear the thoughts and concerns of residents regarding a proposed natural gas pipeline from the utility company Enbridge. More than 300 people who are against the development attended, and 50 of them spoke directly to the board.
The pipeline would stretch 28 miles from Siler City to Moncure and pass through the private property of residents. While Enbridge says it would be used to support the county’s growing population and industry, many residents fear the environmental impacts, the negative effect on property values and that the pipeline would be used to support a proposed data center. Some have already received notice from the company that their property could soon host an easement. Enbridge plans to use eminent domain laws to survey and ultimately create 50-foot-wide easements on private property in order to complete the 12-inch wide pipeline.
One of the meeting’s 50 speakers makes his problems with the pipeline project known to the board (Image via Elena Pace/Chapel Hill Media Group).
The current proposed route of Enbridge’s natural gas pipeline (Image via enbridgegas.com).
“Fossil fuels are not the future, they are truly fossils, dinosaurs of the past,” said Susie Crate, a Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at George Mason University who lives in Bynum. “We need to preserve and protect the precious farmland and heritage that is remaining in our county. And we need to listen to the residents, both long-term and newly arrived, who are speaking out and saying no.”
“There are many reasons to be concerned about the Enbridge pipeline being built,” said Elaine Chiosso, Executive Director and Senior Policy Advisor of the Haw River Assembly. “But one serious concern is that natural gas pipelines explode with alarming frequency in the United States, resulting in injuries, deaths, evacuations and destruction of homes and property.”
“There’s not a third grader in this county who doesn’t know how important the environment is to their future,” said resident Robin Holmes. “And we adults need to start acting like it.”
John Dunning is one of the Chatham County property owners who may end up with the pipeline near his home. During his time at the podium he responded to the rumors of the project being used to support a data center.
“How does that constitute the use of eminent domain by a Canadian company and local assistants to steal my American, Chatham County soil, and to put my family at danger?” he asked. “Those of us losing our land need the board to help us understand why your local, Chatham County residents are expected to carry this huge burden in order to fill the coffers of private players who have no genuine interest in the prosperity of our Chatham County.”
Mary Blevins (right) and other Chatham County Bridge Brigade activists hold signs outside the Chatham County Agriculture & Conference Center (Image via Elena Pace/Chapel Hill Media Group).
One group in attendance was the Chatham County Bridge Brigade, an activist organization which uses large signs to spread messages to drivers passing under bridges. Outside the meeting, members held signs with slogans like “There is no planet B” and “Enbridge fuels climate chaos.” Brigade member and Pittsboro resident Mary Blevins said she was surprised to learn that Enbridge’s access to people’s property would go beyond the initial installation of the pipeline.
“Once that pipeline goes in, if they get their 50-foot right-of-way in the future, they can extend it without any ‘okay,’” she said. “They don’t have to ask the residents. They can just make it bigger.”
Another speaker at the meeting was Sara Heilman, the clean energy strategist at NC WARN, a nonprofit which advocates for environmental causes across North Carolina. She said while the state is rapidly developing, a natural gas pipeline would cause more harm than good.
“Any investment that North Carolina makes into fossil fuel infrastructure is one that further entrenches us in a fossil fuel future,” said Heilman. “If we do in fact need more power to fuel growing businesses in the state, I think it’s important that we fuel those businesses with clean energy. Local solar installations, battery installations…these are faster to install, cheaper, much more equitable and less polluting than these proposed fossil fuel projects.”
She said both her organization and the Haw River Assembly are urging the county to ask the state to require an environmental impact statement. They also want the county to ask the state to require individual permitting for any area where the pipeline would cross water sources, rather than allowing Enbridge to use one permit for the whole project. These are ultimately state-level decisions – as Chatham County Commissioner Amanda Robertson shared in a written statement from the board.
“As a county government in North Carolina, our authority over the approval process and ultimate outcome of a project of this nature is limited,” Robertson’s release read. “However, where the County does have authority and influence, it is important that our decisions are informed by the voices of our community. Hearing directly from our residents helps guide how the Board exercises any authority available to us and considers any actions the County may take.”
Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chair Amanda Robertson listens to comments from concerned residents (Image via Elena Pace/Chapel Hill Media Grouo).
Shiloh Daum, an attorney specializing in eminent domain law, explained that because utility companies have considerable rights of early access to begin planning and developing projects, the county cannot take direct action to stop the pipeline.
“That’s where we are right now,” he said. “[Enbridge] have exercised and in fact sued some local landowners to enforce those rights. From here, there is a regulatory process that unfolds largely at the state level, because this is an intrastate pipeline, meaning that it’s only staying within the boundaries of North Carolina. Right now, essentially, most of the regulatory approval happens at the state level and less so at the county level. But these kinds of county governments’ choices and community involvement is an important component that will be considered at the state level.”
Daum encouraged anyone who has been contacted by Enbridge to contact an attorney to see what can be done, and to seek the best possible compensation if an easement ends up running through their land. The company provided a statement on how it plans to conduct the project.
“We are still in the design and survey phase to gather data and landowner input so that Enbridge Gas North Carolina can select a route that helps avoid or reduce impacts on environmentally and culturally sensitive areas,” the statement read. “We respect that this project raises questions and concerns in the community and among leaders, and we share their interest in protecting natural resources and minimizing impacts. We are committed to engaging with landowners, the community and local leaders to answer questions and provide information as route refinement continues.”
And even though Chatham County may have limited power in this instance, Mary Blevins said she appreciated the board’s openness to hearing the concerns of the community.
“There’s a lot to be said for people showing up in person and standing up and speaking out,” she said. “So that’s why I’m here. I have no idea if it will have the desired effect, but the fact that the Chatham County commissioners are willing to hold this meeting shows that we voted for a lot of the right people.”
Featured image via Elena Pace/Chapel Hill Media Group
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