US Clean Water Act contains many sections

From an Article by John McFerrin, WV Highlands Conservancy Voice, July 2022

States, including West Virginia, have gained more control over the issuance of permits under the federal Clean Water Act.

Under the federal and state Clean Water Acts, anybody who wants to undertake a wide variety of activities which have an impact upon water must have a permit. These include discharging water into a stream, filling a stream, or crossing a stream or a wetland. Most recently this requirement has meant that both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline have been required to have permits for pipeline construction.

These permits are issued by federal agencies. Under the law as it historically existed, even when federal agencies issue permit decisions, states still had a role. Under Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act, federal agencies could not authorize projects in a state unless that state certifies (called a 401 Certification) that the project will not violate state water quality standards.

Our most recent experiences with this are the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. With those two pipelines, or any other project where federal agencies issue water permits, West Virginia could have stopped the project by refusing the 401 Certification. If it did not want to refuse the 401 Certification outright, it could have conditioned its approval on the pipeline developers taking certain steps to protect water quality.

The reason for this requirement of state certification were explained during the original debates on the federal Clean Water Act. Senator Muskie explained on the floor when what is now §401 was first proposed: “No polluter will be able to hide behind a Federal license or permit as an excuse for a violation of water quality standard[s]. No polluter will be able to make major investments in facilities under a Federal license or permit without providing assurance that the facility will comply with water quality standards. No State water pollution control agency will be confronted with a fait accompli by an industry that has built a plant without consideration of water quality requirements.”

In the spring of 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency issued a new rule dramatically reducing the authority that states have to refuse certification or demand conditions on permits. This was in response to complaints about other states imposing too many conditions upon pipeline construction or refusing certifications altogether. For the reasons mentioned below, there were no complaints about West Virginia authorities.

Now the United States Environmental Protection Agency has changed the rule back to what it was historically. The states once again have the authority to review federal permits and certify that a project will not cause a violation of water quality standards. If a project needs conditions to protect state waters, states can demand those conditions.

Does West Virginia really care?

If recent experience is any guide, regaining this authority will not make any difference to West Virginia. Both the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline had to have permits to cross streams and wetlands in West Virginia. Through the 401 Certification process, West Virginia could have prevented the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission from finally approving the pipeline as well as the United States Army Corps of Engineers from approving the stream crossings, etc. that the pipeline will entail until we had assurance that West Virginia’s water would not be damaged. West Virginia had the opportunity to either stop the project entirely or, more likely, place conditions upon it that would make it less damaging to West Virginia waters.

Instead of reviewing the projects and either rejecting them or placing conditions upon them, West Virginia waived its right to do so. For the details, see the stories in the December, 2017, and January, 2018, issues of The Highlands Voice.

While the restoration of authority might make a difference in some states, it is not clear that it will make any difference in West Virginia. When the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection had the authority before, it did not use it. There is nothing to indicate that having it back will make any difference. The current West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has no interest in using the right which the Clean Water Act grants it anyway.

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The West Virginia Highlands Conservancy is a non-profit corporation which has been recognized as a tax exempt organization by the Internal Revenue Service. Its bylaws describe its purpose:

The purposes of the Conservancy shall be to promote, encourage, and work for the conservation — including both preservation and wise use — and appreciation of the natural resources of West Virginia and the Nation, and especially of the Highlands Region of West Virginia, for the cultural, social, educational, physical, health, spiritual, and economic benefit of present and future generations of West Virginians and Americans.

MVP Involves Environmental Violations in WV & VA

From a Submitted Essay by Thomas Hadwin, Roanoke Times, July 18, 2021

I have read with interest the various community opinions about the Mountain Valley Pipeline. As a former electric and gas utility executive, I am very familiar with the challenges involved in creating the energy facilities we need at a reasonable cost and with the least possible disruption to our environment.

So far, MVP’s record of environmental protection has not been good. They have been cited for hundreds of permit violations and fined $2.7 million. Construction in the areas with the greatest potential for landslides, soil erosion and stream crossing impacts has not yet occurred.

In their June 30 opinion column, Cline Brubaker and Bob Camicia, former Franklin County Supervisors, argue that if the MVP were finished, the Summit View Business Park could draw new businesses and jobs to the area, benefitting the region and making a certain amount of environmental disruption acceptable.

Choosing between protecting our water, heritage and property rights versus increased economic activity is a false choice based on incomplete information.

The former supervisors said the MVP could be tapped “at no cost to residents.” This is probably accurate in the context of the way the connection was presented to the Franklin County Board of Supervisors, but it does not reflect the cost to Roanoke Gas customers.

Roanoke Gas told the Virginia energy regulator that Franklin County could obtain gas service with a connection to its existing supplier East Tennessee Gas. This extension would cost about $37 million for 40 or more years of service. Connecting to the MVP, which was routed through the Summit View Industrial Park, would cost just $6.5 million.

It looks like MVP is the better choice, but an important detail was left out. Roanoke Gas committed to pay the MVP $122 million over 20 years to reserve a small amount of capacity on the pipeline, based on the current estimated cost of $6.2 billion for the MVP. Two such contracts would be needed to equal the 40 years of service from East Tennessee. The gas is purchased separately.

Connecting to its existing supplier would save over $200 million compared to using the MVP. Such a connection could have been accomplished years ago and the added economic development would already be occurring.

Why didn’t it happen that way? My guess is that RGC Resources, the company that owns Roanoke Gas, wanted to make a bigger profit. They will receive about $211 million in revenues over the first 20 years as an owner of the MVP. RGC’s 1% share of MVP taxes, financing and operating costs would be deducted from those revenues.

It is claimed the MVP is required for us to have the gas we need. That is untrue. Existing pipelines in the region have expanded by more than twice the amount the MVP would provide. EQT, the nation’s largest gas producer, is responsible for about two-thirds of the capacity of the MVP. This requires them to pay over $620 million each year to the MVP for a pipeline they don’t need.

EQT’s chief executive officer told financial analysts that gas production in the Appalachian Basin will not be growing if gas producers want to remain profitable. He said they have all of the pipeline capacity they need to get their gas to market. The MVP just adds to the existing surplus of capacity and creates a huge financial risk for our largest gas producer.

We need to talk about the “whole story.” We can protect our environment and have the lowest cost access to the gas we need — but that’s not possible with the MVP.

>>> Thomas Hadwin served as an executive for electric and gas utilities in Michigan and New York. He lives in Waynesboro, Virginia.

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See also: US EPA challenge muddles future of Mountain Valley pipeline – Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance, July 12, 2021

MVP has been of citizen concern for years now

From an Announcement of West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Charleston, WV, April 26, 2021

The Mountain Valley Pipeline continues to threaten the 500 remaining streams they have yet to cross! You can be the eyes on the ground to defend these streams. We’re hosting a free webinar on May 4 to share how you can identify, document and report pollution from the pipeline. Register here.

West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Trout Unlimited are hosting an online event to train citizens on how to monitor streams in the path of Mountain Valley Pipeline. During the live webinar, you’ll learn about the different methods Mountain Valley Pipeline will use to cross streams. We’ll provide you with detailed information to identify, document, and report sediment and erosion control deficiencies to keep Mountain Valley’s mud out of our streams.

What: Pipeline Stream Crossing Training

When: May 4th at 7:00 pm

How: Register for the webinar here

WEST VIRGINIA RIVERS COALITION
3501 MacCorkle Ave SE #129
Charleston, West Virginia 25304
304-637-7201 | wvrivers@wvrivers.org

Mountain Valley Pipeline can contaminate rivers & streams during construction

Just a reminder of some upcoming comment deadlines on MVP and ACP:
____________________________________________

Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP)

The Notice of Scoping comment period for MVP’s request to bore at 180+ waterbodies, FERC Docket CP21-57, closes tomorrow, April 15th at 4:59pm.

If you want to weigh in, here are a couple options:

Public petition from App Voices, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, POWHR + CCAN

(URL to share: bit.ly/MVPscoping)

>>>. CP21-57 Talking points

>>>. Sierra Club petition

>>>. Wild Virginia Guide

>. Submit a Comment via eComment directly into the docket

>. Need help navigating the site?

______________________________

Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP)

The ACP restoration plan comment period closes Friday, April 16th at 4:59pm.

>>>. Here is information from Friends of Nelson on how to weigh in

>>>. Submit a Comment via eComment directly into the docket

Thank you!
–
Jessica Sims, Virginia Field Coordinator
Appalachian Voices, 812 E. High Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 226-0589 office
jessica@appvoices.org

Coated 42 inch high pressure pipe is seem at lower right, quite risky for the steep terrain of WV & VA or under rivers & streams

To: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Subject: Docket Number – CP21-57-000; Deny MVP’s request to amend Certificate

Appalachian Voices and our supporters, whose signatures will be submitted, respectfully request that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission deny the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request to amend their Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. There has been no supplemental environmental impact statement for the requested changes, and MVP’s request appears to be an attempt to circumvent restrictions resulting from the loss of water crossing permits, and to interfere with their own application for state-level permits.

Expanding upon their 2020 amendment request, which the Commission did not approve, MVP applies the same approach: altering plans at will, mid-construction, requesting hundreds of variances from approved permit conditions and pursuing conflicting, simultaneous paths to circumvent missing water protection permits. The company’s construction plan—and subsequent environmental impacts—continue to move further from the original, approved certificate. This newest Certificate Amendment is akin to a variance request for the entire route.

Without proper analysis, the public cannot know the severity of impacts to soil, steep slopes, streams and wetlands that would be caused by close to two hundred conventional borings. The company should not receive a blank check to arbitrarily alter construction practices along almost the entire route.

Waterways in steep terrain and with karst geology are not suitable locations for boring, and longer crossings bring additional risk. Multiple requests by Intervenors for a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement in response to granted variances have gone unanswered by the Commission in the original Docket CP16-10. As construction potentially proceeds, the plans and execution of these plans bear less and less resemblance to what was reviewed and approved by the Commission in 2017 and used to inform other Federal and State agency decisions.

We respectfully ask that the request to amend the certificate be denied. If the FERC is seriously considering this amendment, we request that the Commission undertake a full Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement that thoroughly addresses impacts from boring and is accompanied by a 90-day public comment period.

Thank you for consideration of our comments and any additional personal comments our supporters have submitted.

Sincerely, Appalachian Voices & associates

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See also: Appalachian Voices’s petition for the MVP Certificate Amendment, Docket CP21-57

See also: Talking Points, including an intervenor template

WB XPress stream crossing with failed sediment controls. WV-DEP

From an Article by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, June 17, 2020

Hundreds of rivers and streams throughout the two Virginia’s have been crossed or are proposed to be crossed by natural gas pipelines. The construction of these pipelines across steep terrain with highly erodible soil has been problematic for our waters in the valleys below.

Through our Citizen Oversight and Regulatory Advisory Program, WV Rivers and Trout Unlimited (TU) have documented numerous instances of water quality impacts from pipelines.

Understanding the impacts, permitting process, crossing methods, and ways to minimize impacts can get confusing so, with TU, we’ve published a new report, “Reducing Impacts of Pipelines Crossing Rivers and Streams.”

In the report, we take a closer look at the affects pipeline construction has on rivers and streams by breaking down the construction impacts into two categories: water quality impacts and habitat and aquatic life impacts.

The report takes a deep dive into the various methods pipeline companies use to cross rivers and streams, from trenching though to boring under, and examines the advantages and disadvantages of each of those crossing methods.

We explain the current legal status of the stream crossing permit, called the Nationwide 12, required for the pipelines to proceed with construction, and we offer specific recommendations that can reduce and avoid impacts of pipeline construction.

By conducting additional studies and analysis in the design and permitting phase, pipeline companies and regulatory agencies can avoid unnecessary degradation of our rivers and streams. Read the full report here.

42 inch Mountain Valley Pipeline is larger than previous pipelines, probably too large for the steep terrain and many stream crossings

From an Article by Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times, April 24, 2020

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is still targeting a completion date of late this year, a spokeswoman said Friday, despite reports of the suspension of a nationwide program needed to grant a key permit it lacks.

Last week, a federal judge in Montana vacated a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline to cross streams and wetlands in a decision that also applied to other projects, including the controversial natural gas pipeline being built through Southwest Virginia.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which approves the permits on a general basis for pipelines, utility lines and other construction work that must cross a water body — has suspended the process in light of the court ruling.

Mountain Valley spokeswoman Natalie Cox said the company was aware of comments from the Corps about its so-called Nationwide Permit 12, which the AP attributed in part to emails it had obtained.

“We are awaiting further developments on the Montana federal court case … to understand any potential impacts on the MVP project,” Cox wrote in an email, adding that the company still was aiming to complete work on the 303-mile pipeline by the end of the year.

Mountain Valley was originally slated to be done by late 2018, and delays caused by legal challenges from environmental groups have in large part caused its estimated price to soar from $3.7 billion to as much as $5.5 billion.

“Continued delays will further erode the case for completing the MVP,” said Thomas Hadwin, a retired gas and electric utility executive from Waynesboro who is opposed to the project.

While Mountain Valley officials have said the pipeline is 90% done, “this is probably one of the biggest outstanding issues for them,” he said.

Hadwin said it was difficult to say whether the joint venture of five energy companies would abandon the project at this late stage, as opponents hope.

“The more money they put in, the harder it is to say, I’m going to give up,” he said. “I think that most board members would say, we’re so far in, let’s keep going.”

Larry Liebesman, a senior adviser for the water resources consulting firm Dawson & Associates in Washington, D.C., said he was not surprised to learn of the Corp’s suspension of its permitting process for stream and wetland crossings.

“My read of it is they felt it was important to abide by the court order, which in effect was a nationwide injunction against use of the Nationwide Permit,” he said.

It was not clear Friday how long the suspension might last. A spokesman for the Army Corps referred questions to a counterpart at the U.S. Justice Department, who had not responded by 6 p.m. Friday.

Environmentalists have long decried the Nationwide Permit process, which takes a blanket approach for projects the Corps determines will not cause significant harm to natural resources. An individual analysis of each stream crossing is needed to fully evaluate a pipeline’s effects, they say.

“Permit applications for projects like MVP would — and should — fail if project-wide impacts were more thoroughly examined,” said Russell Chisholm, co-chair of the anti-pipeline group Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights.

Over the past two years, Mountain Valley has been cited repeatedly by regulators in Virginia and West Virginia for noncompliance with required measures to control erosion and sedimentation. Muddy runoff from construction sites along steep mountain slopes has carried sediment into nearby streams.

Mountain Valley has blamed much of the problem on heavy rainfall in 2018, and says it is working to have three sets of suspended permits — including the one to cross more than 1,000 streams and wetlands — restored in time to resume work by the late spring or summer.

An original water-crossing permit granted to Mountain Valley more than two years ago was set aside by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The company had applied for a new approval and was waiting on a decision when the recent court decision came down.

Because the Nationwide Permit is also used by power lines and other utility work, critics say the ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Brian Morris goes too far.

The Justice Department is likely to ask the judge to narrow the scope of his ruling, and to then appeal if he does not, according to Height Capital Markets, an investment banking firm that has followed Mountain Valley. “The universe of the kind of projects that would be affected is incredibly broad,” Liebesman said.

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See also: Dominion Energy: Significant new natural gas generation not viable, NBC News 29, April 8, 2020

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Dominion Energy Virginia recently told state regulators “significant build-out” of natural gas-fired power plants is no longer viable because of renewable energy legislation lawmakers passed earlier this year.

The disclosure came in a filing with the State Corporation Commission several weeks before Dominion has to file its integrated resource plan, or IRP, a long-range planning document that describes how the utility will generate power to comply with regulations and meet customer needs.

The company’s critics called it the latest development to raise questions about why the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the approximately $8 billion multistate natural gas pipeline the utility’s parent company is spearheading, is needed.

When Dominion proposed the pipeline in 2014, it was planning to build several thousand megawatts of additional natural gas generation in Virginia, said Will Cleveland, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

MVP sediment pollution in Braxton County, WV

From the Allegheny – Blue Ridge Alliance ABRA Update #241 – 8/16/2019

Impacted landowners, concerned citizens, and trained volunteer monitors participated in a “VioBlitz” over the August 9-11 weekend.

Sponsored by the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, an ABRA member and a partner in the ABRA CSI program (Compliance Surveillance Initiative), participants traveled portions of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and documented as many permit violations as possible over a 3-day period.

Volunteers reported approximately 100 potential violations to regulatory agencies across the West Virginia and Virginia, with more than 60 occurring in West Virginia alone. Although responsible state regulatory agencies insist that they have adequate enforcement capacity, there is currently only one dedicated pipeline inspector for the entire state of WV.

It took a dozen volunteer monitors hundreds of hours over three days to trace the route through Monroe, Summers, Greenbrier, Nicholas, Webster, Braxton, Lewis, and Harrison counties. The continued pattern of repeated violations and impacts on water resources calls into question the quality, safety and reliability of MVP construction.

For the health and safety of affected communities and environment, citizen monitors and organizations are calling for the regulatory agencies to immediately issue a stop-work order on the project.

UPPER PHOTO — Heavy runoff laden with sediment overwhelms Mountain Valley Pipeline’s sediment and erosion control barriers, making its way into Oil Creek in Braxton County, WV.

LOWER PHOTO — MVP fails to control sediment and sediment-laden water from leaving their access road impacting Barbecue Run which flows into Knawl Creek, a tributary of Burnsville Lake, Braxton County, WV.

Water pollution on MVP in geographic center of WV

Sediment pollution in Grassy Run of Upshur County, WV

By Jake Lemon and David Kinney, Trout Unlimited, August 5, 2019

Over the past few years, developers and regulators have assured Virginians and West Virginians that sound construction practices and the effective use of erosion controls would limit impacts to the hundreds of streams in the path of proposed Marcellus Shale country pipelines.

“Based on the avoidance and minimization measures developed . . . and our recommendations,” the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wrote in a typical assessment of one of the pipelines, “we conclude that surface water and wetland impacts would be effectively minimized or mitigated.”

And yet since the work began on the Mountaineer Express, the Mountain Valley (MVP), and the Atlantic Coast (ACP) pipelines, citizens have reported impact after impact on their streams and rivers: TU and West Virginia Rivers volunteers alone reported 275 water quality incidents to regulators, who in turn issued 84 notices of violation.

Just last week, Virginia officials were forced to stop work on a two-mile stretch of the MVP after inspectors discovered that “construction priorities and deadline pressures” had contractors working without proper erosion and sediment controls.

As outlined in a new snapshot (link to full report below) compiled this summer by Trout Unlimited and West Virginia Rivers, these pollution events “threaten critical habitat for aquatic species and clean water supplies for citizens, farms, and industry.”

>>> TU-WV-Rivers-Pipeline-Report-8.1.20192Download

What’s happening on the ground demands a response. Work on both the MVP and ACP is in limbo amid court challenges. Regulators should use this hiatus to take a hard look at what has worked and not worked over the past year, and take steps to prevent a repeat if and when construction restarts on these pipelines.

In the short term, state agencies should require the use of more effective erosion and sediment controls, and dedicate more staff and resources to inspections during construction. That would help ensure proper installation and maintenance of these measures, which protect streams from damaging stormwater pollution events.

Over the long term, regulators must reevaluate how they permit pipeline infrastructure by, for example, requiring site-specific plans for all stream crossings.

Hundreds of people—anglers and non-anglers alike—have attended citizen science trainings hosted by TU and West Virginia Rivers to help us monitor pipeline construction. They have learned how to collect water quality samples in their local waters along the route of proposed pipelines, and how to visually identify pollution events. This army of volunteer stream stewards has built a wealth of baseline data and flagged several hundred incidents, and they’ve done it in their spare time.

On the Mountaineer Express, for example, dewatering of flooded construction areas caused a sediment plume on Fish Creek. On the Mountain Valley Pipeline, volunteers reported hundreds of sedimentation incidents in Monroe County, WV. Failed ACP erosion controls muddied Grassy Run in Upshur County, WV. A hillside failed in Franklin County, VA, covering a road in a foot of mud and causing sedimentation in a nearby stream.

The MVP was recently fined $265,972 for a series of water quality violations that polluted 33 streams and wetlands.

These incidents are outlined in the new TU/WV Rivers report, which is the first of a quarterly series that will track the water quality impacts of pipeline construction in the central Appalachians. It can be viewed as an ArcGIS Story Map here.

Construction of the Mountain Valley has been held up by legal challenges to permits allowing developers to cross streams and wetlands. West Virginia regulators are responding not by ensuring that pipeline companies comply, but by broadly rewriting permit conditions to allow developers to take more time when completing stream crossings. This would only increase the likelihood of pollution events.

The ACP is appealing a Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision that overturned a Forest Service permit to cross the Appalachian Trail on public land. Without the permit, the project is in limbo. At the same time, the Fourth Circuit has rejected permits issued to the project by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, citing a faulty Endangered Species Act review.

>>> Jake Lemon is Eastern Angler Science Coordinator for Trout Unlimited; David Kinney is Eastern Policy Director.

And now, a year later, the protests continue against the MVP

From an Article by Tommy Lopez, WSLS News 10, Roanoke, May 20, 2019

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – Some opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline are still sitting high up in the trees in protest, blocking construction of one section.

The last remaining tree-sit still has support in eastern Montgomery County near Elliston. Many pipeline opponents remain there, at the site that’s called Yellow Finch, which is just off US Route 460.

They’ve maintained the protest for the last eight months — through snow, rain and wind — blocking the pipeline’s path and preventing tree-cutting. Multiple protesters have rotated through the two tree-sits during that time.

Crystal Mello took her turn this past weekend, taking the position for about 48 hours. “I can’t picture [the pipeline] coming through here,” she said. “Somebody’s pockets are getting fat off of putting all of us in danger, even their own workers.”

A grandmother who cleans houses, she said it was emotional being up in the trees, supporting the anti-pipeline cause. “We all drink water. We all love these mountains. We all love our neighbors.”

She said hearing stories from landowners who’ve reported damage to their property and hearing of explosions along other pipeline routes motivated her to take action. Her biggest worry is that a pipeline would cause an explosion.

“This is definitely not a Democratic thing. This is definitely not a Republican thing. This should be the most bipartisan thing ever,” Mello said.

WSLS News 10 has told the stories of “Red,” “Nutty” and demonstrators on a Franklin County farm, among others. Now, Yellow Finch is the last tree-sit left on the MVP path.

The protesters can hike up an adjacent mountain to get a birds-eye view of the tree-sit. There, they can see a path of downed trees miles long — trees, which still remain on the ground.

People who live close to the path, like Penny Artis, remain concerned about the project’s effects. “The environment means nothing. Money means everything,” she said.

The pipeline opponents hope to keep their protest going. “The trees that are still standing are being held the best we can, to keep them from coming in,” Artis said. “We’re not eco-terrorists. We just want to live to see tomorrow.”

The MVP remains neither finished nor dead. A company spokesperson said Monday that it’s more than 80% complete and is still on track to be done by the end of the year.

“We respect the opinions of those who are opposed to the MVP project and, more importantly, we want to ensure everyone’s safety throughout the various phases of the construction process,” spokesperson Natalie Cox said in a statement sent to 10 News.

BACKGROUND:
The Mountain Valley Pipeline planned path runs from West Virginia into North Carolina, crossing through Giles, Montgomery, Roanoke, Franklin and Pittsylvania counties in the commonwealth. The natural gas pipeline would travel 303 miles and is estimated to cost $4.6 billion.

Opponents have documented hundreds of alleged examples of environmental harm the project has caused, including water quality effects from storm runoff and erosion.

The project has been met with opposition since the planning stage. Opponents have voiced concerns in local meetings and federal court proceedings, and staged sit-in style protests that have ranged from so-called tree-sits — in which some protesters have positioned themselves in the path of construction workers for more than a month at a time — to protests in which opponents have chained themselves to construction equipment in order to delay work.

A federal agency issued a stop-work order in August for the project, citing environmental concerns. The order was lifted later that month for all sections except two stretches that cross federal land.

In October, a federal court pulled a federal stream-crossing permit, which was a major setback for the project.

In December, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and the Department of Environmental Quality filed a lawsuit against the MVP, citing environmental violations.

The company behind the MVP said it received a letter in January from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia stating that it and the EPA are investigating potential criminal and civil violations of the Clean Water Act and other federal statutes related to the pipeline’s construction.

The MVP cleared a hurdle in March when the State Water Control Board decided it will not consider revoking a key permit. The news came after many pipeline opponents called on the board to take action against the project.