Section 401 Water Quality certification for upland conditions was issued to Atlantic Coast Pipeline on December 20, 2017. The State Water Control Board included a delayed effective date based on submission and approval of certain information: ”This certification shall be effective only following submission, review and final approval as required by law of the Karst Mitigation Plan, Annual Standards and Specifications, and Erosion and Sediment Control Plans and Stormwater Management Plans, and a report to the board and the public by DEQ on the adequacy of these materials." This certification is part of the most rigorous regulatory process to which a proposed pipeline ever has been subjected in Virginia. DEQ’s staff has been diligent, and will continue to be diligent, to ensure that all appropriate practices are in place to meet all water quality challenges identified. DEQ has worked, and will continue to work, to make sure it has met all the requirements of state and federal law for which it is responsible. If this project proceeds, DEQ will hold the developers to the highest standards for which they are accountable.
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