Environmental Groups Request Rehearing for Controversial SSEP Pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Environmental groups filed a requestfor rehearing for the dangerous, expensive, and unnecessary Southeast Supply Enhancement Project, or SSEP.

Transco's proposed SSEP project includes 55 miles of new pipeline that would run through Virginia and North Carolina, and also includes compressor station expansions. In North Carolina, SSEP's proposed route would cross more than 150 streams and wetlands and run through communities already suffering from some of the worst air pollution in the state.

Several of the North Carolina communities threatened by the proposed SSEP have passed resolutions of opposition or concern, including the cities of Midway, Greensboro, and Lexington, a current wholesale customer of Transco, and Forsyth, Davidsonand Guilford counties. Thousands of people have submitted public comments opposing the pipeline throughout its permitting process, including hundreds of North Carolinians who opposed state air and water authorizations. A group of more than three dozen North Carolina state and federal elected officialsalso submitted a letter opposing the project, urging the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to deny SSEP's water permit. A dozen Virginia legislators also weighed in to oppose the project.

In response, the Sierra Club, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and Southern Environmental Law Center released the following statements:

"FERC disregarded the facts when it approved this unnecessary and polluting pipeline project," said Caroline Hansley, Sierra Club's Campaign Organizing Strategist."By ignoring expert evidence, community concerns, and basic legal standards, FERC has placed the burden of paying for SSEP on everyday families, while allowing pipeline companies and utilities to rake in profits. FERC must reconsider its decision and uphold its duties to the public."

"FERC's decision reads like it was written by the applicant, Transco: accept the utility narrative without question, arbitrarily dismiss or completely disregard any contrary evidence, and move construction forward before the agency process is even complete and parties have access to any potential relief from the courts. That's why we're asking the Commission to reconsider its authorization, stop construction, and follow the law," said Megan C. Gibson, Senior Attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center."FERC should rescind its notice to proceed immediately and fix these errors before communities and landowners suffer irreversible damage."

"The exorbitant cost of this project will be stuck in ratepayers' wallets for decades, even if data center load projections diminish. FERC needs to take in the entire picture of evolving load uncertainty within the context of captive, powerless ratepayers and grant this request for rehearing," said Shelley Hudson Robbins, Senior Decarbonization Manager at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "The stakes are simply too high right now to double down on expensive methane infrastructure."

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit https://www.sierraclub.org.