RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – The companies developing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline have agreed to spend nearly $58 million to help offset its environmental impact in Virginia. A memorandum of agreement outlining the payments was signed several weeks ago by then-natural resources secretary Molly Ward and Leslie Hartz, an executive with lead pipeline developer Dominion Energy. The agreement says the money is to mitigate forest fragmentation and related impacts on water quality from construction of the 600-mile-long pipeline. The state has also negotiated other pipeline-related mitigation efforts, including one to offset impacts on historic resources. The project, which has received many of its key permits, will start in West Virginia and run through Virginia and North Carolina. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s spokesman, Brian Coy, says the environmental mitigation agreement is a good deal for taxpayers.
