In July 2014, the first survey crews should be appearing on private lands along a proposed new pipeline's route. Construction is expected to get underway in 18 to 24 months.The project map's town labels are blurry, but it seems that a planned Dominion Power pipeline for natural gas from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in West Virginia would pass near the towns of Middlebrook, Greenville, and Stuarts Draft as it angles out of Highland County. The route goes southeastward through the George Washington National Forest, and over the Blue Ridge southeast to North Carolina. The Old South High blog has a detailed report. The pipeline, officially called the Southeast Reliability Project (and the Virginia Trunk Line as it passes through the Commonwealth), has supporters who cite potential job-creation and energy price stability. Opponents have a 1000+ signature petition against the pipeline, while citing National Forest environmental damage and other concerns.
