In a letter to the U. S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS on December 30, 2021, Katheryn Emery, P.E., Acting Director of the WV Division of Water & Waste Water, writes as follows”

….. from page 11 ….

Finally, MVP proposes three trenchless crossings of traditional navigable waters in West Virginia. It proposes a guided conventional bore under the Elk River in Webster County, microtunneling beneath the Gauley River in Nicholas County, and a Direct Pipe crossing of the Greenbrier River in Summers County. MVP explains that these technologies are not reasonably expected to breach river bottoms, contribute to an “inadvertent return” of any drilling fluids, or otherwise result in a discharge. While WVDEP agrees with these assessments, it requires in the attached conditions that MVP adhere to its previously submitted inadvertent return plan for these bores.

VII. Conclusion — State § 401 Certification, as required by Section 401(a)(1) of the Clean Water Act, is granted subject to the conditions contained in Attachment A. Certification shall be effective 15 days from the date of this letter. Affected parties may request a hearing in accordance with Rules for Individual State Certification of Activities Requiring a Federal Permit, W.Va. Code R. § 47-5A-7 (2014).

From an Interview by Elizabeth McGowan, Energy News Network, December 8, 2021

David Sligh, conservation director for the nonprofit Wild Virginia, is one of several scheduled speakers for a Mountain Valley Pipeline protest in Richmond on Dec. 11, three days before state regulators consider a permit for the project.

The quest for approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline has proved to be so herky-jerky over the past seven years that even diligent watchdogs need a spreadsheet to stay on top of each layered zig and zag.

One such dogged individual is David Sligh, conservation director for the nonprofit Wild Virginia. The Charlottesville-based attorney and University of Virginia graduate describes himself as a policy nerd who has worked for 35 years to make the promises of the country’s environmental laws real. That tenure includes a stint as a senior environmental engineer for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

David Sligh will be one of several speakers at a pipeline protest scheduled from 1-4 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Byrd Park in Richmond. The Rev. William J. Barber II, chair of the Poor People’s Campaign, will deliver the keynote address at the event organized by the Violation Vigil Project.

It’s intentionally set to take place three days before the Virginia Water Control Board meets — and likely votes — to grant or deny a Clean Water Act permit for the natural gas pipeline.

In addition to Wild Virginia, the vigil is a collaboration of Sierra Club Virginia, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Protect Our Water Heritage Rights, and numerous other conservation and social justice organizations.

The limited liability company trying to complete the pipeline is a joint venture of EQM Midstream Partners, NextEra Capital Holdings, Con Edison Transmission, WGL Midstream and RGC Midstream. Currently, it’s way over budget and years behind schedule.

Plus, the owners have paid more than $2 million in penalties for 300-plus water quality violations in Virginia and West Virginia, according to a September 2020 report from the Natural Resources Defense Council.

If completed, the pipeline is designed to carry a glut of hydraulically fractured natural gas from West Virginia to a market in North Carolina that close observers say is nonexistent. It is actually two projects. The mainline is 303 miles and the 72-mile Southgate extension would reach into North Carolina.

That extension — and perhaps the entire pipeline — was dealt a significant setback last Friday when the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board voted resoundingly to deny a permit for the proposed Lambert compressor station in Pittsylvania County.

“This is a huge blow to the extension project,” Sligh said about the air board’s 6-1 rejection. “It doesn’t directly affect the mainline, but may affect the thinking about cost and benefits of carrying the gas from West Virginia if it can’t get to North Carolina.”

Initially, the entire pipeline route crossed close to 1,000 rivers, streams and wetlands. Construction executed thus far has already compromised hundreds of them.

Sligh is intimately familiar with the terrain the pipeline carves through in Virginia’s New River and Roanoke valleys. His family roots in the Roanoke region stretch back some eight generations.

“That’s home range for me,” he said. “Some of these water bodies I have loved all of my life.”

He’s deeply aware that pipeline construction has already compromised the delicate karst topography, formed by limestone and other soluble rocks. The 107-mile stretch of the pipeline’s path in Virginia is characterized by steep slopes and underground sinkholes, caves, aquifers, and streams.

Sligh finds it remarkable that so many Virginians are equally passionate about those landscapes. “In my long involvement in these fronts, I’ve never seen so many people who have stayed engaged with an issue for so long,” he said. “Now it’s time for the water control board to recognize they didn’t have the full story at first. They need to incorporate that new information into their next decision.”

In an interview with the Energy News Network, Sligh explains why protesters have stuck with their effort to shut down the pipeline. The transcript was lightly edited for clarity and length.

See the transcript here ….

https://energynews.us/2021/12/08/meet-a-clean-water-activist-fighting-to-protect-virginia-streams-from-the-mountain-valley-pipeline/