Response to SCC Ruling on Public Testimony

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Additional information on the SCC Hearings by Phone: https://nopowerlines.org/scc-hearing-by-phone

Over the past several days, there has been a lot of movement in this case. We have been meeting with counsel, engaging with Commission staff, and responding in real time as developments unfold.

The Commission’s latest ruling confirms that public testimony will begin Monday via a telephonic hearing. Nearly 600 residents signed up to participate - the Order itself references 598 public witnesses, though SCC staff has indicated the final number may be slightly higher. Either way, it represents an extraordinary level of public engagement.

However, the Commission’s response to that level of participation raises serious concerns.

In response to the number of sign-ups, the Commission reduced individual testimony from five minutes to approximately two minutes - a 60% reduction. Two minutes is barely enough time for a resident to state who they are, where they live, and why this project matters to them, let alone provide meaningful input on a massive infrastructure proposal that would permanently alter their community.

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If you are signed up to speak, please prepare your two minute statement in advance

More troubling still, the Commission imposed a hard cutoff. Public testimony will end no later than Friday, December 19, regardless of how many registered speakers remain unheard. In practical terms, this means that many residents who followed the rules, signed up properly, and have been waiting for weeks may never be called at all.

Compounding the problem is how the testimony will actually be conducted. As of now, there is no schedule, no assigned order, and no advance notice. Participants will simply receive a phone call at some random point between the morning of December 15 and the end of the day on December 19.

When we raised these concerns and asked whether any basic structure could be added - such as alphabetical sequencing, assigned numbers, or approximate time windows - we were told that this is not the process the Commission uses for telephonic testimony. As a result, participants will receive a single, unscheduled call with no advance notice or opportunity to reschedule.

People have real obligations during the week. They are at work, in meetings, in classrooms, taking exams, traveling, or caring for children. A process that depends on being available at a random moment over multiple days is almost guaranteed to suppress participation.

This is not happening in a vacuum. At the two prior Ashburn hearings, hundreds of residents arrived early, signed up as instructed, and were told speakers would be taken in order of sign-up. That did not happen. Many never got a turn. Those residents were then told they would have an opportunity to speak during the telephonic hearing. Now that opportunity has been reduced by 60% - or eliminated entirely for those who never get through the list again.

At a basic level, this raises serious questions of fairness. When a community shows up in unprecedented numbers, the response should be to meet that engagement - not shrink the process around it and cut people out.

We also recognize that the Commission is responding to a level of public engagement and outcry around Dominion Energy’s Golden to Mars proposal that is, by any measure, unprecedented. We appreciate the Commission’s efforts to anticipate community interest by holding two in-person hearings here in Ashburn, and by having all three Commissioners attend the first hearing - something we were told is rare, if not unprecedented in itself.

At that first hearing, however, we were told by Commission and security staff that attendance expectations were closer to 200 people. Instead, more than 1,000 residents showed up, and the community filled the room again two weeks later. Despite that turnout, only 78 community members - including elected officials - ultimately had the opportunity to speak. Many others signed up, waited, and were never called.

One constructive aspect of the ruling is the Commission’s decision to extend the written comment deadline to December 30. While written submissions should not - and do not - replace a citizen’s right to address the Commission directly, we appreciate that this additional avenue for participation remains available. We encourage residents to continue submitting written comments if they have not yet done so, to ensure their voices are fully and clearly heard.

We are continuing to work through next steps on both the legal and public-engagement fronts. This is unfolding in real time. What is clear, however, is that public participation should be meaningful, not merely procedural. The structure imposed by this ruling still falls short of that standard.

This project has the potential to impose permanent, generational impacts on our community. Decisions of that magnitude demand a process that allows the people most affected to be fully and fairly heard.

Our community deserves a full voice in that process.

If you haven’t done so already, please visit https://nopowerlines.org/scc-hearing-by-phone and prepare your two minute statement in advance.