PIPELINE SPOTLIGHT: TALKING ACP AND MVP WITH DAVID SLIGH, WILD VIRGINIA CONSERVATION DIRECTOR
On June 21st, the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay of a Corps of Engineers permit, which prevents MVP from constructing through any streams or wetlands in West Virginia until court hearings scheduled for September.
May 14, Wild Virginia sent the Forest Service a letter objecting to an outrageous order closing portions of the Jefferson National Forest for many months. Read More
December 8, 2017 -- Wild Virginia Sues Virginia State Water Control Board Over Approval of MVP Permit
What did the Water Board decide and what does it mean? Read our blog post here
In December 2017 – The Forest Service also issued a terrible Final Record of Decision to modify 11 standards in the Jefferson National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan to allow the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project.
This proposed pipeline crosses the Jefferson National Forest in Giles and Montgomery Counties in Virginia and Monroe County, West Virginia. The Mountain Valley Pipeline sources the same fracked gas and has the same delivery destinations as the ACP.
The route passes through the Appalachian National Scenic Trail Corridor and would cross the Appalachian Trail a half-mile south west of Peters Mountain Wilderness Area.
MVP, LLC has identified the Atlantic Coast Pipeline route as an alternate route in information provided to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The ACP route was rejected due to “steep terrain”.
Because the ACP and the MVP are being evaluated simultaneously the impacts of both of them should be also considered at the same time and their environmental impacts combined in all present and future analysis. This includes impacts related to fracking the gas, burning the gas, methane releases on climate, and hindering the development of renewable energy systems in our national energy policy.