We were shocked at the large sheriff’s department presence at the ‘so-called’ Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) Compressor Station Community Advisory Group meeting on Nov. 5.

The Dominion external affairs representative, Carla Picard, assured the audience that the deputies were not requested by Dominion. A member of the audience then spoke with a deputy, only to discover that Dominion had asked for them. Emmett Toms, Dominion’s external affairs manager, finally stood up to state that they had asked for protection due to “the threat of a protest.” We continue to question Dominion’s intention of being a “good neighbor.”

The meeting contained multiple instances of this sort of deception and misinformation.

As Pastor Paul Wilson noted, we didn’t receive the agenda or any of the materials promised at the Sept. 30 meeting until Nov. 4, barely more than 24 hours before this meeting.

We were invited to advise Dominion on our thoughts about the proposed compressor station, but it seems we were merely being advised by them of what they’re going to do.

Marie Gillespie, a Union Hill resident threatened with the pipeline crossing the access to her property and home, spoke of “getting the cart before the horse” in Dominion’s planning of this industrial facility next to their community before even beginning to seek input from the neighbors.

Safety was an issue since a Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration top pipeline safety official said that his agency has “very few tools to work with” in enforcing safety rules and that the regulatory process he oversees is “kind of dying,” according to an article published in “InsideClimate News.”

Dominion’s suggested tour of a compressor station was less than satisfactory being that we were offered a visit to Leesburg which has only two turbines and 11,000 horsepower compared to the proposed Buckingham station of 41-44,000 horsepower and four turbines (and the requested possibly two more increases in the future as referenced in an ACP resource report filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)).

The public forum, requested by The Herald on Sept. 3, was a topic listed on the “to-do” board by Patty Rusten, the meeting facilitator from the gas industry’s Natural Resources Group. The topic was never addressed.

Dominion, withdraw your FERC application for the ACP!

Kenda Hanuman, is a member of Friends of Buckingham, a group opposed to the proposed ACP. Her email address is kendahanuman@gmail.com.