With the submission of a 30,000-page application, environmental resource reports and exhibits – a stack of paper more than 10 feet tall – Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, today formally applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to build a $5 billion, 564-mile interstate natural gas transmission pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina.

The project is designed to meet the need for cleaner electricity generation, satisfy the growing demand for natural gas to heat homes and businesses, and promote consumer savings and economic growth.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is being asked to certify the public benefit and necessity of the project. The FERC and a number of participating agencies will examine fully a broad number of issues, including public safety, air quality, water resources, geology, soils, wildlife and vegetation, threatened and endangered species, land and visual resources, cultural and historic resources, noise, cumulative impacts and reasonable alternatives. Pending regulatory approval, construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2016 and the pipeline is expected to be in service in the fourth quarter of 2018.

Four major U.S. energy companies – Dominion (NYSE: D), Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) and AGL Resources (NYSE: GAS) – formed Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, (Atlantic) to build and own the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).

"The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is essential to meeting the clean energy needs of Virginia and North Carolina, and has significant benefits for West Virginia as well," said Diane Leopold, president of Dominion Energy, the Dominion business unit responsible for building and operating the project. "The ACP will enhance overall energy reliability in the region, bringing natural gas that will heat homes and power businesses, support thousands of jobs, and promote lower energy prices and economic development. It will be used to fuel a new generation of efficient power stations being built to achieve future federal and state environmental regulations.