Water board approves capacity and safety improvements for City water system

Water board approves capacity and safety improvements for City water system; Atlantic Coast Pipeline to finance project

January 12, 2018

BUCKHANNON, WV:  Residents of Buckhannon will soon benefit from improvements to existing water lines and the addition of a new booster pump station.  The City of Buckhannon’s Water Board voted Thursday to approve the plans for construction of a new booster pump station at Brushy Fork and water lines connecting the new pump station to the water system.

Dominion Energy and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) will pay for 100% of the cost of these improvements which will facilitate testing the gas pipeline’s structural integrity prior to operation. The permit for the ACP is currently under review by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, who recently held a forum for public comment at Buckhannon-Upshur High School in December. The City of Buckhannon has no authority over the construction of the ACP and will await the permitting decision of the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection before making comment.

However, the City of Buckhannon also has no legal basis to deny supplying water to a customer in their jurisdiction, including Dominion Energy and the ACP. As such, the City of Buckhannon seized the opportunity to make improvements to the water system, paid for by ACP. The residents of the City of Buckhannon will continue to benefit from these improvements even after pipeline testing is complete.

The City of Buckhannon will continue to monitor the safety of our water system and expects the regulatory agencies responsible for pipeline permitting to do the same. The Mayor, City Council, Water Board and City of Buckhannon staff will continue to work for City residents by ensuring that the City infrastructure is sound and will always require that any large quantity users adequately compensate the City for water system usage.

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For questions, contact Callie Cronin Sams, callie.csams@buckhannonwv.org.