Siler City, NC – In the formal request posted below, veteran biologist John Alderman urges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to conduct a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed natural gas pipeline in Chatham County. The author argues that the project threatens the Rocky River-Deep River system, which serves as the primary critical habitat for the endangered Cape Fear Shiner. Beyond immediate construction damage such as sedimentation and blasting, the letter highlights the need to evaluate indirect development and cumulative stressors on the local watershed. Furthermore, the letter emphasizes the need for public transparency regarding the project’s necessity and its potential to disrupt working farms through eminent domain. Ultimately, John Alderman contends that the region’s ecological rarity warrants the most rigorous federal scrutiny to ensure long-term environmental and agricultural preservation.
Colonel Brad A. Morgan
District Commander
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District…