FOIA Friday: Possible pipeline flaws, Richmond mass shooting plot investigation

One of the less noticed features of the Virginia Way is the long-running tendency of the commonwealth’s leaders to conduct their decision-making behind closed doors. While the Virginia Freedom of Information Act presumes all government business is by default public and requires officials to justify why exceptions should be made, too many Virginia leaders in practice take the opposite stance, acting as if records are by default private and the public must prove they should be handled otherwise.

In this feature, we aim to highlight the frequency with which officials around Virginia are resisting public access to records on issues large and small — and note instances when the release of information under FOIA gave the public insight into how government bodies are operating. 

Federal pipeline safety agency’s report found possible MVP flaws

A federal pipeline safety regulatory agency’s report found that Mountain Valley Pipeline tests revealed over 70 possible flaws with the pipeline, according to the Roanoke Times.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s report “found a need for about 15 ‘cutouts,’ or the removal and replacement of part of the pipe” in several locations in West Virginia during the latter months of 2023, the Times, which obtained the federal agency’s report through a Freedom of Information request, reported. “Other repairs included reapplying a protective coating on the pipe’s exterior.”

Mountain Valley Pipeline segment ruptures during test

Last October, PHMSA ordered the pipeline’s developers to “test the pipe, reapply the coating and make other repairs as needed,” the Times wrote. 

The report came to light after sections of the MVP ruptured during hydrotesting on Bent Mountain in Roanoke County, when developers ran pressurized water through the pipe to determine its soundness. Developers said the hydrotest worked as designed, while homeowners in the area and environmental groups expressed concern about the pipe’s failure during the test, arguing that it suggests the pipe is unsafe and possibly corroded after sections of it were left open to the elements during the years of the project’s many delays resulting from opponents’ lawsuits.

Covington building official isn’t state certified

The city of Convington has operated without a certified building official since 2021, the Virginian Review reported, and the current building official lacks certifications required by the state. 

Official city documents obtained through the Virginian Review’s records request show the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development warned the locality in March that its current building official Michael Mines had not been officially certified by the state. The certifications, obtained via exams, are necessary for officials to properly enforce building codes and safety standards. 

State law allows officials up to one year to earn the certifications after they start working for a city, town or county. Mines began his role as the city’s building official in 2022 but by the 12-month mark, in September 2023, he still hadn’t gotten certified. A previous building official who worked for the city from October 2021 to January 2022 also lacked certifications.

“The lack of a certified building official poses severe risks to all contractors, homeowners and stakeholders that have had any construction or renovation work performed in Covington in the last three years,” the Virginian Review wrote, adding that the lack of state-sanctioned oversight poses a risk that “buildings may not comply with safety codes, [and] potentially lead to unsafe living and working conditions that could result in structural failures or other hazards.”

The city has contracted CHA Consulting to fulfill Mines’ duties, Covington Mayor Tom H. Sibold Jr. told the Virginian Review, but the locality’s contract with the company, which the paper received in response to a FOIA request, doesn’t appear to include any “mention [of the contractor’s] ability to issue building permits,” perform inspections or grant occupancy permits.

Records shed light on investigation of purported Richmond mass shooting plot 

Richmond television news station WTVR reviewed documents related to what Richmond Police in 2022 characterized as a thwarted mass shooting plot that they accused two Guatemalan immigrants of planning, leading the men to be arrested and jailed in relation to the situation, although “no evidence of a mass shooting plot ever surfaced in court proceedings.” 

Former Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith stated repeatedly to reporters that officers acted based on a tip that suggested Rolman Balcarcel was “planning on shooting up a large gathering event on July 4,” the station’s review of investigative reports about the case revealed. The tip, however, “contained ‘no specification on what time or location,’” of the alleged plot. 

Officers visited Balcarcel’s home and didn’t find any guns or ammunition in his possession, a police operations report read. In the same visit, Julio Alvarado-Dubon, Balcarcel’s roommate, admitted to officers that he had firearms in his closet; he was subsequently arrested for possessing a firearm without being an American citizen.

Officers came to the home again the next day, where they again didn’t find any guns belonging to Balcarcel, but arrested and charged him the same as Alvarado-Dubon. That charge was dropped when Balcarcel’s case was sent to federal court. Related investigative files show that police never “corroborated the accuracy of the reported mass shooting threat,” according to WTVR reporter Tyler Lane. 

Ultimately, Balcarcel was found guilty of illegally reentering the country and Alvarado-Dubon entered a conditional guilty plea on the gun charge and was sentenced to 16 months in prison, which his attorney has since appealed. Smith stepped down from his role as the capital city’s police chief roughly three months after he announced the alleged mass shooting plot alongside Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney, amid mounting public criticism of his role in the debacle.

Lane reported that federal “Judge Hannah Lauke made a point of saying that [Alvarado-Dubon’s] connection to the unfounded shooting plot was ‘overplayed’ and ‘took a life of its own.’” 

Have you experienced local or state officials denying or delaying your FOIA request? Tell us about it: [email protected]