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BUCKHANNON -- Since hundreds of workers left Upshur County in December due to rulings delaying the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, local businesses have been impacted negatively.
In Upshur County, employment went from approximately 700 at peak construction down to a little over 100 employees, according to Dominion Energy communications specialist Samantha Norris. Those 100 employees include environmental control workers, safety supervisors and some administrative support staff, but the laborers who were constructing the pipeline have not been able to proceed.
"The most recent stop work order was a complete shut down, including West Virginia and Upshur County, specifically which was seeing a lot of progress in the 2018 season," she said. "The impacts were immediate. Right before Christmas, it resulted in layoffs and the delay of hiring more than 4,500 construction laborers across West Virginia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia and the supply header project.
"That impact is huge - not just to individuals and their household economics but their ability to spend on restaurant, hotels and convenience stores."
The ACP -- which originates in West Virginia and includes roughly 23 miles through Upshur County -- will end in eastern North Carolina.
Originally, plans called for the pipeline work to be done in Upshur County in both 2018 and 2019, with a slow down in winter.
"Some of the slow down was forecast to happen in West Virginia but definitely not to the extreme it was," Norris said. "We would have been able to continue some work.
"Ultimately, the delay is not going to stop the construction of the pipeline," Norris said. "We are confident in the permits we have received from dozens of agencies - both state and federal. We are confident in the research and practices we have in place to construct this project. Ultimately, what this slow down is doing is impacting the end user's ability to get a crucial natural resource -- their ability to heat their homes this winter, their ability to expand infrastructure, their ability to use this domestic resource has been choked off because of this delay."
The impact of the delay on businesses who were counting on the additional income for a couple of years during construction seasons is already being felt.
Casey Mills owns CaseyEarl's LLC, a full-service embroidery, screen printing, sign and banner printing and more company.
A newer edition to Buckhannon, Mills was connected with the Atlantic Coast Pipeline at a Festival Fridays event in summer 2018.
"Since August, they have made up a third of my whole gross income," he said. "That helped me so, so much and I had planned on that continuing through the winter. There was going to be a huge jacket order I was getting. Now, if they do get started in the spring, they won't need those jackets. It just hurts."
Since the shutdown, Mills said he has not been as busy and is working on internal projects such as updating his website.
He has also seen how the shutdown has affected other people including local landlords - one of which even moved out of her house to rent to pipeline workers who have now left.
"It's hitting a lot of people hard," he said.
Del. Patrick Martin, R-Lewis, is also a property owner, with several rental homes in Upshur County. Prior to the influx of workers, Martin put in 128 camper sites on Brushy Fork Road - which happened to be across from the yard where the workers would leave from each day.
"I put them in primarily for the pipeline," he said.
At its peak, Martin estimated that 90 percent of the campsites were filled while now about 15 or 20 percent are full.
Of the rental properties Martin owns, almost every one of those filled by workers for the pipeline were emptied.
Some stayed at a reduced rent Martin offered but others have left the area. This is not what Martin thought would happen, either.
"Of course, I expected to have a lot more business," he said. "I planned on being at least half or more full."
With Martin not earning as much, he has had to put off other projects which are having a trickle-down effect on other workers.
"Before, I was taking older homes and fixing them up and I have had to put all that on hold to see what happens with the pipeline," he said. "I haven't hired any more contractors. The contractors said I provided them with a lot of work. Now, everybody is looking for work."
Like the others, Martin is also watching for what will happen.
"I hope they definitely get their permits and they can get back to work and work at a steady pace," he said.
"A lot of the workers now have a little bit of uncertainty because of the permits. It has hurt everybody all around. They are holding on and hoping that comes back."
CJ Rylands, general manager of C.J. Maggie's and a local landlord, said, "We lost a tenant that was staying in one of our apartments and there has been a little drop-off in the daily revenue at the restaurant, attributable to the loss of these people out eating and drinking."
Many of the workers were staying in local hotels and motels as well.
Dalton and Patty Cutright own the Colonial Motel, a business that not only must compete for business with newer hotels along the Corridor but is also across the street from two motels.
"It saved us for a year," Dalton Cutright said of the influx of workers for the pipeline. "We don't get the traffic off the highway like we used to.
"It really saved our business. Since they left, we are sitting here almost empty again. I still have gas bills, taxes and all these things that I need to pay that eventually I am not going to be able to pay everything."
Cutright sees the pipeline construction as a boon for not only his business but all of the area.
"We need that business here to help the economy," he said. "There are a lot of motels and restaurants that will really be hungry if they don't stay here for a couple or three years."
Although the bulk of the workers are expected to only be here for construction, a small number of new jobs will be created to run compressor stations and inspect and secure the lines, he noted.
"They will be good-paying jobs," he said.
In the meantime, Cutright is watching what happens with the permit process. A small number of workers have stayed but the majority have left with the uncertainty.
"By them leaving, it's a negative impact, " he said. "When they come back, it will be a very positive one."
There may be some positive news coming for Cutright and other business owners.
On Thursday, Norris said that ACP just received FERC approval for its stabilization plan which will bring back more laborers and operators to the area.