Woodland Elementary School is located close to one of the proposed gas projects: the T-15 pipeline. This is raising local concerns that any leaks or accidents could endanger children. Woodland is also extremely close to the proposed site of the gas powerplants, which would expose children to dangerous air pollution.
Join us! Community Meeting on Gas Projects in Person Co.
Let NC DEQ know you don’t want the T-15 Pipeline in Person Co!
NC DEQ is considering whether to issue a water pollution permit for the T-15 Pipeline. Submit a comment to let them know you don’t support this project:
- Your concerns (in your own words!) about the pipeline.
- Ask for public hearings in each of the 3 counties.
- Ask to be notified about any public hearings
Detailed info on the concerns with the T-15 pipeline below.
Use this info to fill out the comment form, at this link!
ID number: 20250069
Version: 1
Name of project: EGNC T-015 Reliability Project
Enbridge is proposing a massive gas pipeline through Rockingham, Caswell, and Person Counties.
- The T-15 Reliability Project would deliver methane to two gas-powered Duke plants in Person County.
- The plants & T-15 pipeline are part of Duke’s plans to meet inflated demands for more electricity from big tech companies & other industrial customers.
Now, NC DEQ is reviewing Enbridge’s application for a “Water Quality Certification”. Enbridge is a Canadian corporation with a history of violations. The T-15 pipeline would have many stream crossings in its 45 mile path. Enbridge plans it to be 30-36 inches wide, a huge diameter for a pipeline.
Concerns with the T-15 Pipeline
- The T-15 project would supply one or more gas-powered Duke plants. These plants received approval based on exaggerated projections of electrical demand. The pipeline, compressor station, and power plants would leak methane. This would undermine NC’s ability to reach emission reduction goals for climate stabilization.
- The T-15 project would impact over 100 stream crossings, over 7 miles of streams, and wetlands. Enbridge is only seeking a National Permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. This type of permit is less strict, and not enough to account for the pollution caused by this large project. It would be impossible to draft a 401 permit (or enforce it) to ensure water quality is protected in the impacted tributaries to the Roanoke River.
- The T-15 pipeline is a financial risk to Duke customers. Rate payers will pay the cost of building it, plus the profits to Enbridge. In the future, non-emitting electric generation will be required to meet climate goals. This pipeline will become a stranded asset, paid for by ratepayers and then abandoned.
- This pipeline will not fit within the corridor for the existing smaller pipeline that runs along most of the pipeline route. To build the T-15, Enbridge is seeking much larger easements and additional work space. Impacted landowners in all three counties are expressing concerns.
- Due to the 45 mile length of the pipeline, one public hearing in one location is not enough to allow all three counties a chance to comment. Each county should have its own public hearing.
No gas plant! Tell NC Utilities Commission Person Co. Does Not Need ANOTHER Gas Plant
Right now, the NC Utilities Commission is deciding whether to allow Duke to build ANOTHER huge gas plant in Person County.
The utilities commission already approved one gas powerplant there. The gas plant’s air permit allows the existing coal plant to run at the same time, with no enforceable retirement date for the coal plant. CWFNC helped the community next to the coal plant fight for clean-up and water filtration, after coal ash poisoned private wells.
It gets worse. Microsoft bought an industrial mega-site close to transmission lines from the plant. A lobbyist for the American Petroleum Institute testified to NC legislators that faster gas permitting was needed, citing a new Microsoft data center at that location as one reason why.
Tell the NC Utilities Commission: No new gas plant! Some points to consider:
- A gas powerplant running at the same time as a coal plant and diesel generators for data centers is too much air pollution. The neighborhood nearby already have health concerns:
- The area near the proposed site has significantly higher rates of infant and child mortality and babies born with a low birthweight, compared to the national avereage (97th percentile, 95th, and 90th, respectively).
o The area has higher rates of stroke, cancer, chronic heart disease, and COPD than 70% of adults in the U.S.
- The area near the proposed site has significantly higher rates of infant and child mortality and babies born with a low birthweight, compared to the national avereage (97th percentile, 95th, and 90th, respectively).
- Local residents & Duke customers refuse to pay (with money & with our health) for powerplants that serve big tech companies like Microsoft. Microsoft can generate their own CLEAN electricity with solar + storage.
How to comment:
- Visit: gov/contactus.html
- Put your name, email address, and for the docket number, use: E-2 Sub 1349
- Write your comment. Tell them why you as a Duke Energy customer or local resident don’t want this new gas plant! Click submit.
Map of Proposed Gas Projects & Microsoft Mega-Site
Learn More
Fact sheet about all proposed methane gas projects in Person County (including T-15).
Fact sheet about all pipeline projects in Rockingham County (including T-15, Southeast Supply Enhancement Project SSEP, and MVP Southgate). For more visit nossep.org
Take the next step! Write a letter-to-the-editor and submit it to your local paper. This lets your neighbors know about the pipeline, and what they can do to oppose it. Check out this letter-to-the-editor guide from Appalachian Voices.
