What is Transco SSEP?

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From now until Mon July 28th, the Army Corps is accepting public comments on Transco SSEP’s 404 water quality permit application. Public comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment (EA) that FERC has chosen to create, instead of an Environmental Impact Statement, pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.

GUIDE TO SUBMIT:

Comments should be submitted electronically via the Regulatory Request System (RRS) at https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs. Please reference Corps project number (SAW-2024-01961) for all comments on the project. Filings may be addressed to Steven VanderPloeg, Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Norfolk District

• Pre-draft your comment. 
• Visit https://rrs.usace.army.mil/rrs, select “Public Notices,” search for notice by selecting “Norfolk” or “Wilmington” Districts. 
• Select the “Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project / North Carolina section / natural gas / Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson Counties” listing.
• Click on the “speech bubble” icon to submit a comment. This brings up a pop-up submission box. You can include attachments.
• If submitting written comments: 
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 

Attention: George Lyle Phillips III
3331 Heritage Trade Drive, Suite 105
Wake Forest, North Carolina 27587.

Please refer to the permit application number SAW-2024-01961 in your comments.

TALKING POINTS:

REQUEST A PUBLIC HEARING:

• Requests for public hearings shall state, with particularity, the reasons for holding a public hearing – be specific about why you think they should hold a hearing.
  • The comment period is too brief
  • There is missing information the public needs to review
  • The public should be given more opportunity to provide meaningful input.
  • Some members of the public prefer verbal comment delivery.

ASK THE ARMY CORPS TO DENY THE CLEAN WATER ACT SECTION 404 PERMIT APPLICATION: 

• The public comment process has started too soon.
• The project is adverse to public interest.
• The project will harm sensitive waterways.
• There are less environmentally damaging alternatives to open-cut stream crossings

SHARE YOUR SPECIFIC CONCERNS ABOUT THE PERMIT + PROCEDURE + ADD PERSONALIZED REMARKS: 

• Concerns about the impacts
  • There is not a need for this pipeline, as demonstrated by a new study by London Economics.
  • In the the Wilmington District: 
    • Temporary discharge of dredged and/or fill material within 1.161 acres (11,652 linear feet) of stream channel; 
    • Temporary discharge of dredged and/or fill material within 11.186 acres of wetlands; 
    • Permanent conversion of 1.294 acres of forested and scrub-shrub wetlands to emergent wetlands. 
  • In the Norfolk District: 
    • Temporary discharge of dredged and/or fill material within 1.01 acres (5,971 linear feet) of stream channel for the construction of the of the pipeline and 120 square feet (10 linear feet) of stream channel for the construction of the permittee responsible mitigation site; 
    • Temporary discharge of dredged and/or fill material within 10.62 acres of wetlands for the construction of the of the pipeline and 3.34 acres of wetlands for the construction of the permittee responsible mitigation site;
    • Permanent conversion of 1.13 acres of forested and scrub-shrub wetlands to emergent wetlands.
• Concerns about the public process
  • The public input process is premature.
  • Agencies are still requesting and reviewing information which could be applicable to the Army Corps application.
  • This is a co-located pipeline with the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate, but there is no cumulative impact analysis.
  • Permit application relies too heavily on previous FERC decisions and favorable comments.
  • The current comment period should be extended to 60 days.

On Friday, June 6, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission posted Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC’s Joint Permit Application for its proposed methane gas pipeline “Southeast Supply Enhancement Project.” 

The application notes that it has also been submitted to other federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Wilmington and Norfolk Districts, and the Virginia and North Carolina Departments of Environmental Quality. As part of the review process, agencies will first determine if the application’s content is complete, or missing necessary information. The Joint Permit Application is for the review of the project’s impacts to rivers, streams, and wetlands from instream construction, and initiates federal and state permitting processes under the Clean Water Act and state water and wetlands laws. 

The massive SSEP pipeline expansion is proposed between Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Coosa County, Alabama. It includes 26.4 miles of new pipe in Pittsylvania County and 28.4 miles of new pipe in Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson counties, North Carolina. 

Additionally, the proposal calls for expanding emissions-producing gas-fired compressor units in Iredell and Davidson counties, North Carolina and compressor station updates in Anderson County, South Carolina, Walton and Henry counties in Georgia and Coosa County, Alabama.

Most of the SSEP’s new pipe would be laid near or next to existing Transco pipelines, and parts of the Project cover a route similar to the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate extension. The co-location of multiple high-pressure, large-diameter pipelines is of significant concern for local residents in the impacted counties.

The application process for SSEP will include public notices from the Virginia and North Carolina Departments of Environmental Quality, and the Army Corps Wilmington and Norfolk Districts, followed by public comment periods.

The Guilford County Commissioners unanimously passed a bipartisan resolution, asking for a more thorough analysis of the proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP).

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC — a subsidiary of Williams Companies commonly referred to as Transco — wants to construct 54 miles of methane gas pipeline and expand or modify compressor stations in five states. Guilford County is the third largest county in North Carolina, and the site of the proposed start of SSEP’s “Salem Loop,” which would add roughly 24 miles of 42-inch pipe in Guilford, Forsyth and Davidson Counties if permitted and built.

Guilford County encouraged FERC to “require a comprehensive Environmental Assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that rigorously evaluates all potential risks and alternatives to the proposed pipeline expansion.” The commissioners’ resolution is the second of its kind– the town of Midway voted to oppose the project on May 5, urging Transco “to thoroughly investigate the option of a no-build alternative and to publicly report the findings with full detail and transparency.”

The commissioner’s focus on safety concerns comes as news comes out that the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline fired an inspector for reporting corrosion of the pipe that could have led to an explosion. MVP’s Southgate extension would run parallel to SSEP.

Midway became the first municipality to pass a resolution against the proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC — a subsidiary of Williams Companies, commonly referred to as Transco — wants to construct 54 miles of methane gas pipeline and increase the horsepower of compressor stations in Virginia and North Carolina. 

SSEP, if permitted and built, could include 10 miles of 42-inch-wide pipeline in Davidson County and a large proposed expansion of the gas-fired compressor station off of Becky Hill Road, northwest of Lexington. The town of Midway would be directly impacted by the proposed pipeline route.

Midway Town Council voted 4-1 to oppose SSEP, citing concerns over safety and negative impacts to land and water resources. The town is seeking to invest in the expansion of Midway Town Park, which would be located in the pipeline’s evacuation zone, just 0.8 miles from the proposed route. Also, the proposed compressor station expansion would increase harmful air pollution in an area that is already burdened by pollutants that can lead to adverse health problems. The town council asked Transco “to thoroughly investigate the option of a no-build alternative and to publicly report the findings with full detail and transparency.”

This week, Transco applied for two air permits to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) for its massive proposed methane gas pipeline, the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP).

If permitted and built, SSEP would install 55 miles of 42-inch high pressure pipeline through North Carolina and Virginia, impact nearly 1,500 acres of land, make more than 100 individual waterbody crossings in 16 watersheds, and dramatically expand two compressor stations in Iredell and Davidson Counties, North Carolina, where communities are already suffering some of the worst air pollution in the state.

The application process for SSEP’s air permits will include a public comment period, and could include public hearings.

After calls from thousands of members of the public for a full Environmental Impact Statement for SSEP, on January 22, FERC announced they would prepare the more abbreviated Environmental Assessment. They also announced there would only be a 30 day public comment period, occurring at the end of 2025. Of note, per federal regulations, if “the EA determines that the environmental impacts of a proposed Federal action will be significant, an Environmental Impact Statement is prepared.” You can submit comments in response to the news of the EA, or in opposition to the project at www.ferc.gov, Docket No. CP25-10-100.