NORFOLK, Va. (WVEC) — Bill Colonna says his family's shipyard has seen many changes over its 143-year history, but the proposed gas line under the Elizabeth River and the shipyard's property is "unforgivable."
"It's just plain fundamentally wrong," Colonna said. "It's unsafe, it should've never been approved in the first place, and it's just wrong."
Colonna is the owner and chairman of Colonna's Shipyard. He spoke for 10 minutes at Friday's press conference but is letting President and CEO Tom Godfrey do most of the talking.
"Pipelines are important," Godfrey said. "They should be done and they should be done safely, but this is unsafe for many reasons."
The pipeline Godfrey and Colonna are referring to is a stretch of the Southside Connector, a natural gas pipeline being built by Virginia Natural Gas, Inc. After months of litigation, the plan to build the pipeline under the shipyard was upheld by the Norfolk Circuit Court on September 18.
Now, Godfrey said he accepts that a pipeline will be built. But he still wants to see major changes to fix potential safety concerns. Godfrey is asking for a decrease in the pressure of the pipeline, additional "shells" or barriers outside the pipeline, more emergency shutoff valves and other changes to its location.
Godfrey said the community did not have the chance to oppose the "huge safety hazard."
"You did not have the opportunity to step in and say my concern is my safety, my family's safety, and how I live my life," he said.
He added that the pipeline would jeopardize some of the work being done at Colonna's Shipyard.
"You don't do this where we have some of the most vital assets for the Navy and the Department of Defense, you just do it," he said.
However, Virginia Natural Gas president Jim Kibler said in a letter to Godfrey that he is making numerous "false and misrepresentative statements" about the pipeline project. Kibler added that Godfrey is "disparaging Virginia Natural Gas' reputation" by making "baseless and defamatory claims."
In the letter, Kibler detailed communications with Colonna's Shipyard dating back to 2016. He closed the letter by writing "Virginia Natural Gas is prepared to take whatever action is necessary to correct the record and protect its reputation."
Virginia Natural Gas currently has the ability and legal authority to move forward with the construction of the pipeline. However, Godfrey said he is still hoping for some kind of solution to his concerns.
"It would be nice if we had a way to work together now and force this to be a safe situation," Godfrey said.