The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has scheduled two public hearings to gather comments on the water quality impacts of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC’s proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project. The hearings will take place at 6 p.m. on September 2, 2025, at Rockingham Community College in Wentworth, and at 6 p.m. on September 4, 2025, at the Kernersville Municipal Council Chambers in Kernersville. Speaker registration for both events opens onsite at 5:30 p.m.
Transco has applied to DWR for a Clean Water Act Section 401 Individual Water Quality Certification as well as riparian buffer authorizations for Jordan Lake and Randleman Lake in connection with the project. The Southeast Supply Enhancement Project involves expanding an existing natural gas transmission pipeline through several counties in North Carolina.
The proposed work includes constructing approximately 4.4 miles of new pipeline in Rockingham County (the Eden loop) and about 24.1 miles across Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson counties (the Salem loop). Additional modifications are planned for compressor stations and other facilities in Davidson, Cleveland, Iredell, Lincoln, and Gaston counties; according to the application documents, these modifications are not expected to affect jurisdictional waters or state-regulated riparian buffers.
Construction activities would temporarily impact roughly 8,100 linear feet of intermittent and perennial streams—about 1.5 miles—and disturb approximately 11.2 acres of wetlands regulated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
The project plans call for installing two large stream crossings and one open water crossing beneath surface waters using horizontal directional drilling or conventional bore methods. Two smaller streams will be avoided due to their proximity to roadway crossings that use similar installation techniques; this approach is intended to prevent direct impacts on those surface waters.
Transco proposes restoring ground surfaces, streams, and wetlands as close as possible to their original condition after construction is complete.
Projects requiring a federal Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers must also secure a state-issued Section 401 Water Quality Certification before federal approval can be granted (https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/clean-water-act-section-401-certification).
To receive certification from DWR, projects must demonstrate that they minimize adverse effects on surface waters and wetlands by considering topography, vegetation, wildlife resources, and hydrological conditions; do not degrade groundwater or surface water quality; avoid causing violations of downstream water standards through secondary or indirect impacts; and provide mitigation for any permanent impacts.
Riparian buffer authorizations are necessary because parts of the project affect streams within the Jordan Lake and Randleman Lake watersheds—areas where state rules require vegetated buffers along waterways feeding into these drinking water sources (https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-resources-permits/wastewater-branch/401-buffer-permitting/jordan-lake-riparian-buffer-protection-rule).
Members of the public may comment during the hearings or submit written feedback by mail or email until October 6 at 5 p.m., using information provided by DWR through its online public comment portal: Public comment link. Comments can also be sent by mail to Samantha Wooten at DWR’s Raleigh office or left via voicemail at (919) 707-8495.
All comments received will be considered during DWR’s review process as required under Session Law 2023-137.
Further details about the application materials are available online: Permit file.
