As the Atlantic Coast Pipeline moves closer to construction, the Nelson County Service Authority is hammering out details on a contract that would provide water for ACP to use during construction.
A contract has not been approved, however, and awaits a vote from the board. The board should vote to approve or deny the agreement at its next meeting May 17, members say.
During a meeting last week, the service authority’s legal counsel, Lovingston-based W. Thomas Berry, said he believes the board could legally execute such a contract, based on Virginia law and the authority’s bylaws.
The important piece of the contract for the service authority to pay attention to, he said, is how much ACP would be charged. He said the board must comply with the section of the Virginia code that requires water and sewer connection fees established by a locality to be “fair and reasonable.”
Details about the contract and water usage were not immediately available. How much water will be used by ACP or exactly how it will be used were not made clear during the May 3meeting.
Board member Tommy Harvey indicated, however, none of the customers the service authority would normally attract is “gonna pay that kind of money.”
Referring specifically to a preliminary contract drawn up during the past couple months and evaluated by ACP officials and the service authority, Berry said, “I think we’re in good shape.”
The contract, if approved, would allow ACP to get the water it needs for construction of the pipeline near Wintergreen, expected to begin this summer. That portion of construction includes the horizontal directional drilling that would bore a path for the pipeline under the Blue Ridge Parkway and into Augusta County.
If the contract is not approved, ACP would have to truck in water from outside the area daily. By getting the water from the service authority, ACP officials say traffic — multiple trips a day by the tankers trucking in water — and wear on the roads caused by the tankers would be reduced.
Opposition to the pipeline is robust in Nelson, with a handful of anti-pipeline and environmental groups based in the county and many residents often voicing their concern about environmental effects — and other consequences they claim will be negative — often at rallies or on social media.
Currently, Nelson County Service Authority Executive Director George Miller is ironing out concerns with the preliminary contract with ACP officials.
Miller said he is concerned the preliminary contract has a section saying the service authority will “guarantee” a daily supply of water. Miller said the service authority cannot guarantee ACP a daily supply, just like it cannot “guarantee” a daily water supply to any of its other customers.
He also took issue with a portion of the preliminary contract that says ACP has the right of water “on demand.”
Additionally, he was concerned about the phrase that says ACP “shall have no duty to pay for water not used.” Miller said all of the service authority’s current customers are required to pay a monthly minimum, and ACP should be subjected to the same standards.
Once those issues are addressed, Miller should come back to the service authority board with his recommendation on the contract at the board’s next meeting, before the board votes.