From Marcellus Drilling News, November 2, 2017

Hold on or you might get whiplash. In March, the West Virginia Dept. of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) issued a federal water crossing permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)–a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA.

In June, a group of profoundly radical “environmental” organizations (Sierra Club, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Indian Creek Watershed Association, Appalachian Voices and Chesapeake Climate Action Network) filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit against the WVDEP for doing their job issuing the permit.

Because of the pressure of that lawsuit, the WVDEP caved and reversed their decision in September, rescinding (called “vacating”) the permit for MVP.The WVDEP said they will “re-evaluate the complete application to determine whether the state’s certification is in compliance with Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act.”

Just two weeks ago the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld WVDEP’s decision and granted the agency’s motion to invalidate the previous certificate they granted the project.

Yesterday, in yet another 180 degree about face, WVDEP announced it has “lifted the suspension” of the MVP stormwater permit – and that the agency has decided to waive the permit, MVP has no need to get it before beginning construction.

It appears newly-minted Gov. Jim Justice, still in his first year, put a branding iron to the backside of WVDEP. Hold on to your cowboy hat! MVP is on the way to getting built in the Mountain State…..

Source: http://marcellusdrilling.com/2017/11/wvdep-reverses-waives-water-permit-for-mountain-valley-pipeline/

Dear Commenter: Date: November 2, 2017

Please see the attached Responsiveness Summary prepared for comments received in regards to Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s application for registration under Permit No. WV0116815 (Stormwater Associated with Oil and Gas related Construction Activities).

The Responsiveness Summary is organized such that comments frequently mentioned, or general in nature, or outside the scope of DEP’s authority, are responded to first, Section A (General and Permit Scope Exceedance Comments and Responses). More specific comments on the Construction Stormwater Permit Registration, and the DEP’s response, are second, Section B (Construction Stormwater Permit Registration – Specific Comments and Responses). Oral comments received at the Public Hearings are summarized in Section C (Oral Comments and Responses). Comments and updated responses initially mailed on July 14, 2017 can be found in Section D (Previous comments/response letter dated July 14, 2017 (UPDATED)). In many instances, multiple/similar comments were provided on specific sections or issues. Those comments and responses were summarized to the extent possible.

The Responsiveness Summary as well as Administrative Order 8780 can be found on the following link:

http://dep.wv.gov/WWE/Programs/stormwater/csw/Pages/home.aspx

Please share this attachment and link.

Again, thank you for your interest and comment on the Mountain Valley Pipeline Stormwater Permit Registration. If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.

–Jon Michael Bosley
–Stormwater Permitting Supervisor

>>> The Indian Creek Watershed Association, PO Box 711, Union, WV 24983

In response, Sierra Club West Virginia Chapter Gas Committee Chair Justin Raines issued this statement:

“Instead of protecting West Virginia’s water, WV-DEP has sold us down the river. They had one job to do and they failed to do it, leaving our water in the hands of the federal government and out-of-state corporate polluters who are more interested in making money than protecting West Virginians. If we can’t trust our own state to protect our water, health and tourism, who can we trust to do it? Governor Justice and his DEP have let us all down by abandoning the responsibilities we trusted them with.”

Judy Azulay, Indian Creek Watershed Association President, issued this statement:

“It’s incomprehensible that DEP is not using the authority granted to it by the West Virginia legislature to protect our water. Instead of issuing enforceable conditions for the 401 permit, WV-DEP allows MVP to pen its own free pass to pollute. Instead of overseeing this unprecedented construction project, DEP turns a blind eye to the evidence documented in annotated maps and reports submitted by Indian Creek and other organizations and West Virginians identifying specific areas where the MVP would cause unacceptable degradation of our water. How can our Governor and his appointees allow DEP to abandon its mission and turn its back on the people and our natural resources?”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel, Chesapeake Climate Action Network said:

“Shame on WVDEP Director Austin Caperton and Governor Jim Justice. After directing agency staff to spend over a year’s worth of time, effort, and taxpayer money to look at the impacts to waterways from the massive Mountain Valley Pipeline, they’ve passed the buck to the federal government knowing full well that the pipeline won’t get the thorough review such a massive project deserves. West Virginia’s decision to waive its right to protect hundreds of streams and rivers from MVP is a complete abdication of its duty and a irreparable breach of the public’s trust.

Peter Anderson, Virginia Program Manager, Appalachian Voices said:

“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission clearly stated in its Mountain Valley Pipeline Order that construction may not commence without a water quality certification from each state and that states may impose additional conditions to protect water quality. By waiving its opportunity to do that, the WVDEP has utterly failed to fulfill its mission to preserve, protect, and enhance the state’s watersheds for the benefit and safety of all its citizens. West Virginians deserve better, and they certainly deserve clean water every bit as much as citizens of other states.”