Huntington Branch of US-ACE has responsibility for stream protection
From U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Issuance Date: February 10, 2023 to Closing Date: February 25, 2023
STREAMS: Elk, Gauley, Greenbrier, Roanoke, Blackwater Rivers (Section 10 waters) and other streams
NOTICE OF COMMENT PERIOD EXTENSION: The United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published on December 12, 2022 for public comment a supplemental Public Notice to Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s proposal to discharge dredged and/or fill material into waters of the United States and work in and under navigable waters of the United States associated with the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and can be accessed on our website at:
This Public Notice solicits comments related to supplemental information provided by the applicant. The public comment period on this proposal was extended until February 10, 2023 via public notice of December 20, 2022. The public comment period on this proposal is being extended an additional 15 days until February 25, 2023 to allow additional time for review of additional documents being provided for the benefit of public awareness and to inform any further comments on the proposed project.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION: In addition to the supplemental information described in our December 12, 2022 Public Notice (see link above), revised and additional documents are being provided to the public as follows (month of receipt and/or last update of document in parentheses; documents marked with an asterisk (*) contain updated information from that previously provided via public notice, or impact information being presented in a new organizational format):
• Summary of Impracticability of Using a Trenchless Crossing for the Blackwater River (original October 2021/updated November 2021);
• Riffle and Pool Complexes Avoidance and Minimization Summary (received January 2022);
• Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Responses to Additional Comments Provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (July 27, 2022) for the Clean Water Act Section 404 Individual Permit (received August 2022);
• Hydrogeomorphic Functional Assessment Summary (received October 2022);
• *Streams with Multiple Separate Crossings (received October 2022);
• *Bent Mountain Resources Table (received October 2022);
• *Table 15. Crossing Method Determination Summary (original February 2021/updated February 2023);
• Updated Environmental Justice Screening Tool Results (original November 2021/updated February 2023); and
• *Tables A-1 and A-3 West Virginia Stream Impacts and Summary (original February 2021/updated February 2023).
[1] Corps staff have reviewed the applicant’s webpage to confirm the above listed documents are accessible. In the event the applicant’s webpage is not accessible, the public may contact Mr. Adam Fannin at (304) 399-5610 to schedule an appointment to view the information.
The application, previously provided supplemental information described in our December 12, 2022 Public Notice, and the above described information may be accessed on the applicant’s webpage at:
https://www.mountainvalleypipeline.info/news-info/
Select “IP Applications Supplemental Information February 2023” from the menu on the right-hand side of the page[1].
PUBLIC INTEREST REVIEW AND COMMENT: This application will be reviewed in accordance with 33 CFR Parts 320-332, the Regulatory Program of the Corps, and other pertinent laws, regulations, and executive orders. The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, of the proposed activity on the public interest. That decision will reflect the national concern for both the protection and the utilization of important resources.
The benefit that reasonably may be expected to accrue from the proposal must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments. All factors that may be relevant to the proposal will be considered, including the cumulative effects thereof; among those factors are conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, historic properties, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, floodplain values, land use, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, considerations of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people.
SOLICITATION OF COMMENTS: The Corps is soliciting comments from the public, federal, state and local agencies and officials, Indian Tribes and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the supplemental information provided by the applicant. Reference the text of the March 29, 2021 Public Notice and December 12, 2022 Supplemental Public Notice for additional details. The Corps will only consider comments pursuant to the scope of the supplemental information.
CLOSE OF COMMENT PERIOD: The Huntington District has been designated as the lead Corps district, thus all comments pertaining to this Public Notice must reach their office on or before the close of the comment period listed on page one (1) of this Public Notice. If no further comments are received by that date, it will be considered that there are no additional objections related to the supplemental information. Comments should be submitted electronically to Mr. Adam Fannin by email at CELRP-MVP@usace.army.mil. If you do not have internet access, comments may be submitted through the United States Postal Service (USPS) to the following address: United States Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District ATTN: CELRH-RD-E, Public Notice: LRH-2015-00592-GBR, LRP-2015-798, NAO-2015-0898,
502 Eighth Street, Huntington, West Virginia 25701-2070.
Copies should only be provided through the USPS when electronic transmission is not possible. Precautionary internal mail handling procedures may be instituted to protect our workforce, which may result in longer than normal times to process and receive hard copy submissions. To be considered in our evaluation, comments submitted through the USPS should have a postmark dated on, or prior to, the close of the comment period listed on page one (1) of this Public Notice.
Please note names and addresses of those who submit comments in response to this Public Notice become part of our administrative record and, as such, may be available to the public under provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. Thank you for your interest in our nation’s water resources. If you have any questions concerning this Public Notice, please contact Adam Fannin of the Energy Resource Branch at (304) 399-5610, by mail at the above address, or by email at: CELRP-MVP@usace.army.mil.
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Please address all comments and inquiries to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District ~ ATTN: CELRH-RD-E Public Notice No. (referenced above) 502 Eighth Street, Huntington, West Virginia 25701-2070 ~ Phone: (304) 399-5610
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BIRTHDAY FUNDRAISER: Maury Johnson Asks A Favor! (2/12/23)
Over the past 2 years my Birthday Fundraisers have raised nearly $10,000 for three different, very important organizations: Sweet Springs Resort Park Foundation, WV Rivers Coalition on Facebook and Indian Creek Watershed Association with GoFundMe. I certainly appreciate the support.
This year I decided not to do a Facebook Fundraiser …… but in the past few days I realized that there were two individuals who do a great deal for many people in our community, whether it be within the community of Hans Creek, Monroe County or the greater community that is working to save the region from way too many threats. Those two people are Herman and Paula Mann. They do photography and video work for many important causes and events open free to the public with little or no financial support.
This past Tuesday they took that to a whole new level. We needed pictures from the top of Peters Mountain and getting up there has proven to be difficult. But Herman, age 86 & Paula took a 9.5 hour hike, carrying all their supplies on their backs to get the photos that are needed by so many people for the US Forest Service and the US Army Corp of Engineers comment period. To say this was hard would be an understatement. It was actually an incredible feat.
One immediate need they have is to replace one of the two computers Paula uses to make videos. She also needs to send the one that just crashed to the shop to recover valuable files and have have the other one serviced.
To see the nearly 100 videos she has made since 2016, you can go to her YouTube Page:
https://www.youtube.com/@OliverPhotographyGreenville/videos
Therefore, my request for this year’s Birthday Fundraiser (2-16-23) is that people make a donation to Paula’s GoFundMe. The link is here:
https://www.gofundme.com/awareness-of-impacts-of-a-pipeline
Thanks, Maury of Monroe County, WV
P.S. Your support will help her to continue her valuable community work.