Atlantic Coast Pipeline, (ACP) LLC was undiligent in following the Forest Service’s protocols and responding to the agencies review qualifications of field personnel, the U.S. Forest Service said in filings to the Federal Energy Regulation (FERC) late last week.

“ACP and/or its consultants misrepresented who conducted the soils surveys,” Forest Supervisor Clyde Thompson said in a letter to FERC.

The proposed 550-mile natural gas pipeline would cross National Forest System (NFS) lands in Virginia and West Virginia, according to the letter. The pipeline would also span Buckingham, Cumberland and Prince Edward.

“Dominion is aware of the concerns [the Forest Service] has expressed regarding ACP’s soil survey program,” said Dominion spokesman Frank Mack, “and in the spirit of cooperation the company is taking steps to address those concerns by performing a second round of Order 1 soil surveys in the MNF beginning on or about Nov. 11, 2015. In addition to verifying the 138 soil samples collected in October, our contractors will collect a significant number of additional samples. The [Forest Service] was notified of this second round of surveys on Nov. 5, 2015.”

“Though the Forest Service has not yet received final reports of soils surveys, information has come to our attention that discredits the results of any soils surveys conducted to date while also showing ACP failed to implement the Forest Service’s protocols for surveys and requirements for qualifications of field personnel,” Thompson said.

In the letter, the Forest Service recommends FERC “not utilize data from soils surveys conducted to date on NFS lands in the preparation of the environmental impact statement. “We remain concerned that ACP identified its preferred route and filed an application with the FERC without first completing the soils and geology surveys.”

“While many of the concerns expressed by … Thompson in his letter are the result of miscommunication or misunderstanding between both parties, Dominion strongly objects to the assertion that our company or our contractors deliberately misrepresented the role of any of the field surveyors involved in our soil survey program,” Mack said. “This assertion is false. Dominion will provide documentation to demonstrate this in our formal response to the agency.”