The Honorable Ralph Northam Virginia Democracy Forward (VADF)

Governor of Virginia Virginia Progressive Legislative Alert Network

c/o Clark Mercer, Chief of Staff Network NOVA
Clark.Mercer@governor.virginia.gov Herndon Reston Indivisible (HRI)
Postcards For Virginia
Indivisible Arlington (IA)
We of Action Virginia (WofA)
Together We Will Northern Virginia (TWW NoVa)
Arlington Action Group
Indivisible Winchester (IW)
May 6, 2018 Herndon Huddle
Lewinsville Faith in Action (LFA)
Nova Grassroots
Indivisible Below The Beltway
Indivisible VA10
Thunderdome Virginia Politics

Dear Governor Northam,

We, the undersigned progressive grassroots organizations, ask you to use your authorities under the Federal
Clean Water Act to stop construction of the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines and prevent
potentially serious environmental impacts to our rivers, streams, groundwater, natural resources and human
health.

In 2017, our members energetically supported policymakers with the expectation that they would support
clean energy, environmental protection and the property rights of all Virginians. We will continue to mobilize
for policies and laws in support of these critical values, among others.

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We agree with your 2017 statement: “it’s clear to everyone that the future is in renewable energy.” However,
moving forward with the multi-billion dollar pipelines will have the opposite effect. The pipelines will lock
Virginians into more fossil fuel extraction and consumption for decades. These billions should be invested in
clean energy, which would bring more jobs to Virginia in the long-term and reduce carbon emissions -
particularly critical to the low-lying Hampton Roads region which is already experiencing serious economic
consequences from sea-level rise.

Moreover, independent analyses show that these pipelines will result in excess capacity. Yet the risk of
overbuilding will not be borne by the pipeline companies and corporate affiliates but rather by captive
ratepayers – the residents and business of Virginia.1

We ask you to heed the call to halt the pipelines by Delegates Jennifer Carroll Foy, Mark Keam, Dawn
Adams, Lee Carter, Marcus Simon, Mark Levine, Alfonso Lopez, Chris Hurst, Danica Roem, Elizabeth
Guzman, and Sam Rasoul. We note that many candidates running to represent Virginia in Congress have
publicly opposed the construction of the pipelines.

We urge you to take the following actions:

- Direct the Department of Environmental Quality to conduct a stream-by-stream impact analysis of

each unique water crossing for both the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines as also requested
by Delegates Alfonso Lopez, Rip Sullivan, Mark Levine, David Bulova, Wendy Gooditis, Debra Rodman,
Marcus Simon, Elizabeth Guzman, Dawn Adams, Lee Carter, Kathy Tran, Sam Rasoul, Danica Roem, Chris
Hurst, Mark Keam, Jennifer Carrol Foy, Kathleen Murphy, Hala Ayala, Kaye Kory, and Patrick Hope in their
April 17, 2018 letter to you;

- Ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a rehearing to reevaluate the public need for the
Atlantic Coast Pipeline, as requested by Senator Kaine, and to not delay rehearing through “tolling
orders;” and,

- Strengthen DEQ and SCC oversight of the state electric utilities.

Respectfully,

On Behalf of our Members:

1 See, for example, “Risks Associated with Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion in Appalachia,” Institute for Energy Economics and
Financial Analysis. http://ieefa.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Risks-Associated-With-Natural-Gas-Pipeline-Expansion-in-
Appalachia-_April-2016.pdf and “Two Pipeline Expansion Projects in Appalachia Indicate a Rush Toward Overbuilding,” Institute
for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, http://ieefa.org/two-pipeline-expansion-projects-appalachia-indicate-rush-toward-
overbuilding/
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Chris LeMenestrel Luisa Boyarski
Virginia Democracy Forward (VADF) Together We Will Northern Virginia
www.vadf.org www.togetherwewillnova.org

Sharon Shutler David Pratt

We of Action Virginia (WofA) Indivisible Winchester
www.wofava.org www.indivisiblewinchester.com

Cindy Cunningham Matthew Sowd

Virginia Progressive Legislative Alert (VAPLAN) Herndon Huddle
www.vaplan.us www.herndonhuddle.org

Stair Calhoun Cindy Speas

Network NOVA Lewinsville Faith in Action
www.networknova.org www.lewinsvillefaithinaction.org

Heidi Zollo Denis Orsinger

Herndon Reston Indivisible Nova Grassroots
www.herndonrestonindivisible.com www.novagrassroots.org

Robbin Warner Todd Smyth

Postcards For Virginia Indivisible Below The Beltway
www.postcards4va.com www.indivisiblebtb.org

Kristin Haldeman Guy Potucek

Indivisible Arlington Indivisible VA10
www.indivisiblearlingtonva.com www.facebook.com/indivisibleva10

Kerry Spinks Cleo Usmani

Arlington Action Group Thunderdome Virginia Politics
www.facebook.com/arlingtonactionGroup www.thunderdomepolitics.com

CC: Honorable House of Delegates (who have requested action as per above letter)
Honorable Lt. Governor Justin Fairfax
Honorable Attorney General Mark Herring
Honorable Senator Tim Kaine
Honorable Senator Mark Warner
David K. Paylor, Director of Department of Environmental Quality
State Water Control Board
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