Buckingham County Commonwealth’s Attorney E.M. Wright presented a request to extend an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and a few employers in the county. Without the extension, the MOU is scheduled to end this month.

The MOU, Wright said, is between ACP, Columbia Gas, Buckingham County, Kyanite Mining Corporation and Blue Rock Resources, LLC. The sunset clause for the contract was this month, Wright said.

Wright asked members of the Buckingham County Board of Supervisors during its meeting Monday to consider extending the MOU until further developments with ACP occur.

“As you realize, Atlantic Coast has encountered some problems,” Wright said, “and their press releases still indicate that they are going to build this pipeline.”

Wright said the extension could allow the organizations in the MOU to continue to pursue the objectives that were originally set out.

These objectives include providing natural gas for one of the larger employers in the county and allowing for the development of an industrial park, which Wright said would have the possibilities of having access to natural gas, broadband, water and sewer.

Wright said the adoption would not need to occur during the meeting, but said it could be considered during the Monday, April 22, meeting, when the Fiscal Year 2019-2020 budget is scheduled to be adopted.

Wright said he would have submitted the request earlier but had gotten an email about the request during the Monday meeting.

District Four Supervisor Morgan Dunnavant asked about the time frame of the extension. Wright said the extension could last for two years.