Mountain Valley Pipeline under construction in Virginia

From an Article by Arianna Skibell, E & E News, March 25, 2021

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has denied a bid to stop construction on parts of the embattled Mountain Valley pipeline, despite a stern rebuke from the agency’s two Democratic members.

Mountain Valley “lacks the federal authorizations required to cross over 700 waterbodies and wetlands along the project route,” FERC Chair Richard Glick and Commissioner Allison Clements, both Democrats, wrote in their dissent. “Under these circumstances, allowing piecemeal construction of a project that is still awaiting critical federal authorizations is inconsistent with any reasonable reading of [the pipeline's certificate], not to mention our responsibilities to the landowners, communities, and others who have interests at stake in this proceeding.”

The dispute stems from a FERC decision in December, when the agency — then under Republican leadership — voted to allow the 303-mile natural gas pipeline to resume construction between certain mileposts near the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. A group of environmental advocates led by the Sierra Club contested the ruling.

Republican Commissioners Neil Chatterjee, James Danly and Mark Christie, representing the majority, bypassed Glick’s objections and issued the order denying the Sierra Club challenge yesterday.

While Glick is chair and controls the agency’s agenda, the order marks the limitation of his power without a majority of Democrats on the panel. Chatterjee’s term expires in June, and President Biden is expected to appoint a Democrat to take his place.

The order does not change the status of the $6 billion project that would carry natural gas through West Virginia and Virginia, as Mountain Valley developers resumed construction following FERC’s decision in December and favorable legal rulings.

But the project has faced a series of delays and legal battles and currently lacks a number of permits required for completion, including one to cut through part of the Jefferson National Forest. Financial analysts have predicted that further delays could doom the project.

Wild Virginia, an environmental group that opposes the pipeline, said a stay of the commission’s December order “would have prevented further damage to valuable and sensitive environments along a 17-mile route through our mountains and forests.”

“However, this failure by the Commission, to act responsibly and uphold the public interest, will not stop or slow our efforts to end the MVP once and for all,” said David Sligh, the group’s conservation director, in a statement, using an abbreviation for the project. “Where FERC and other agencies have repeatedly failed us, we seek the court’s intervention and believe we have a great chance of success in those suits.”

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the Sierra Club’s request to stop construction last month. The case is now pending judicial review, but the court has not set a timeline for its decision.

Analysts at research firm ClearView Energy Partners LLC noted yesterday’s order marks “no change to MVP’s current construction authorizations” but pointed out that Glick and Clements’ dissent offers the Sierra Club a wellspring of legal arguments to draw on in any future litigation.

“We expect the Sierra Club to rely heavily on the dissents (Glick’s from the December order and the joint dissent in today’s order) in their appeal,” ClearView said in a note to clients.

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Senators Kaine and Warner voice concerns about MVP stream crossings

From the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance (ABRA) Update #305 – April 2, 2021

Virginia’s two U.S. Senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, have written Richard Glick, Chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), to express concerns they have heard from constituents about confusion on recent filings with the agency by Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (MVP, LLC).

Their March 26 letter asked that the comment period for the public to express their views to FERC be extended by at least 60 days.

The Senators also raised the issue of MVP, LLC’s plans to bore underneath streams, stating:

The environmental impacts of the newly proposed trenchless technology, such as conventional direct bore, horizontal direct drilling (HDD), and “microtunnelling,” are not yet fully understood by impacted parties in Virginia. Boring allows for work to occur up to and under the waterways, which could require blasting and excavation of bore pits required for drilling under water crossings.

Given the unfamiliarity of the proposed boring methods to our constituents, we understand there are many questions and concerns about how this process will impact their daily lives. A detailed environmental survey and a substantial comment period will bring additional transparency and public engagement to FERC’s regulatory process.

The rugged mountains and many streams are readily damaged by large pipeline projects

From an Article by Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times, October 27, 2020

ROANOKE — Two endangered species of fish — the Roanoke logperch and the candy darter — could be pushed closer to extinction if a natural gas pipeline is allowed to invade their waters, according to a legal challenge filed Tuesday.

A coalition of environmental groups asked a federal appeals court to review a biological opinion from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which found last month that construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline is not likely to jeopardize protected fish, bats and mussels.

It was the latest in a string of lawsuits that have long delayed work on the 303-mile pipeline.

Also on Tuesday, the Sierra Club and 10 other environmental and conservation groups asked the Fish and Wildlife Service to stay its approval, one of several needed for the project to move forward.

In a letter seeking the stay, the groups contend that the biological opinion failed to adequately consider how fish would be affected by increased sedimentation caused by the steel pipe crossing hundreds of streams, or how the Indiana and northern long-eared bats would survive the clearing of forests they inhabit.

“These imperiled species are highly vulnerable to precisely the impacts that the Project would inflict,” Elly Benson, a senior attorney with the Sierra Club, wrote in the letter.

Work on the controversial pipeline was put on hold a year ago, after the same environmental groups filed a legal challenge to Fish and Wildlife’s first biological opinion, issued in 2017. After a nearly yearlong review, the agency last month issued its second approval — which was again challenged Tuesday.

Benson’s letter asked the agency to act on its request for a stay “as soon as possible,” as construction crews begin to mobilize along the pipeline’s route from northern West Virginia, through Southwest Virginia, to connect with an existing pipeline near the North Carolina line.

A spokeswoman for the Fish and Wildlife Service would only say that the request and court papers were under review. The Sept. 4 biological opinion was the first of three sets of permits — set aside by litigation filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — to be regained by Mountain Valley.

Three weeks later, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decided to reissue permits allowing the buried pipeline to cross nearly 1,000 streams and wetlands, either by trenching through or boring under the water bodies. A legal challenge led by the Sierra Club quickly followed.

The 4th Circuit then temporarily stayed the stream-crossing permits while it considers the case.

In an email Tuesday, a Mountain Valley spokeswoman said the “comprehensive” biological opinion includes previously submitted and new data. The 200-plus page document exceeds regulatory requirements and addresses earlier issues raised by the court, Natalie Cox said.

“We are not surprised that the Sierra Club and other organizations filed this action, as more often than not their stated opposition is to the project itself rather than to specific details of the permits being challenged,” her email stated.

Mountain Valley has said it plans to have the pipeline finished by early next year. But if the biological opinion is stayed, it would encompass much more of the construction area than is covered by the other suspended permits. The stream crossings account for less than 10 miles of the 303-mile pipeline. And while the U.S. Forest Service has yet to rule on whether Mountain Valley can pass through the Jefferson National Forest, that segment is just 3.5 miles.

The Sierra Club’s letter says that In addition to bats and fish, two kinds of freshwater mussels — the clubshell and snuffbox — would be threatened.

Since the first opinion came out in 2017, the candy darter has been added to the list of endangered species. The environmental groups take issue with the conclusion that the colorful fish would not be hurt by boring under the Gauley River in West Virginia and Stony Creek in Giles County, among other things.

As for bats, the Fish and Wildlife Service improperly downplayed the effects of cutting down roost trees to clear a 125-foot-wide right of way for the pipeline, the letter states.

Joining the Sierra Club in Tuesday’s litigation were Appalachian Voices, Wild Virginia, the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Preserve Giles County, Preserve Bent Mountain, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, the Indian Creek Watershed Association, Defenders of Wildlife, the Chesapeake Climate Action Network and the Center for Biological Diversity.

‘ROW’ for MVP in Roanoke County, VA, in July 2018

Letter of Emily Satterwhite, Virginia Mercury, April 15, 2019

In May 2018, Mountain Valley Pipeline confessed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that its plan for stream crossings along its proposed 303-mile fracked gas pipeline had been based on “theoretical desktop analysis” that “did not take site specific constructability issues (elevations, terrain and workspace) into account.”

From May to September, MVP, FERC, and the Army Corps of Engineers communicated with one another about this confession. We only know about this correspondence thanks to the work of a community-based watershed group in West Virginia, which in December filed a letter with FERC outlining its findings from a Freedom of Information Act inquiry.

Before then, all we knew was that on September 24, 2018, MVP requested a project-wide Variance-006 that would allow pipe to be buried more shallowly on either side of streambeds and that the variance was granted the very next day.

In requesting a variance, MVP admitted that if it followed its original vertical scour and lateral erosion plan, construction “would pose increased environmental or landslide risks or be unsafe or impractical due to terrain or geology.”

FERC staff approved the massive changes, essentially allowing MVP to fabricate its own construction standards on the fly, despite reservations from within both FERC and the corps. Documents indicate that Chris Carson, a corps project manager for the Huntington district, cautioned that “no information is provided indicating whether any of the changes would result in additional discharges of dredge or fill material into waters of the United States.”

FERC Senior Consultant Lavinia DiSanto directed MVP to provide a “site specific scenario … for each location that would receive mitigation.” MVP Design Engineer Ricky Myers dismissed DiSanto’s directive as “excessive” and insisted that MVP would abide by its own newly revised rule: they would build as they saw fit and then consult with a monitor after construction.

FOIA documents give no indication that MVP or FERC informed the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection or the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality regarding the MVP—FERC-corps communications about the variance prior to publication on the FERC docket.

Collusion between FERC staff and MVP enables ongoing reckless construction of a massive project that continues to negatively affect water quality and the well-being of people and communities.

If MVP is able to obtain a new Army Corps of Engineers permit (its previous permit was vacated by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals) and allowed to resume construction in waterways, MVP will do so under its own rogue standards.

FERC commissioners should mandate a supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) that includes the site-specific analysis requested by FERC contractor DiSanto. Virginia’s attorney general and State Water Control Board must issue a stop-work order until such time as the SWCB can assess the effects of variance-006 upon construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline and demand that MVP to do the stream-by-stream homework that Virginia’s DEQ should have required in the first place.

>>> Emily Satterwhite is an associate professor and director of Appalachian studies at Virginia Tech.

Steep terrain also an erosion issue

From an Article by Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times, February 15, 2019

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is under criminal investigation into possible violations of the Clean Water Act and other federal laws, one of the companies building the project has confirmed.

EQM Midstream Partners, the lead company in the joint venture, made the disclosure in an annual report filed Thursday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EQM Midstream was formerly EQT Midstream.

Since construction of the buried natural gas pipeline through Southwest Virginia started last year, crews have repeatedly run afoul of regulations meant to keep muddy runoff from contaminating nearby streams and rivers.

Although Mountain Valley has been named in enforcement actions brought by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and in a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Mark Herring, this week’s filing is the first confirmation of a criminal investigation.

On January 7th, EQM received a letter from the U.S. attorney’s office in Roanoke stating that it and the Environmental Protection Agency were looking into criminal and civil violations related to pipeline construction, according to the SEC filing.

About a month later, a grand jury subpoena was issued “requesting certain documents related to the MVP from August 1, 2018 to the present,” EQM reported in the filing.

“The MVP Joint Venture is complying with the letter and subpoena but cannot predict whether any action will ultimately be brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office or what the outcome of such an action would be,” it said.

Last month, two attorneys told The Roanoke Times that they had asked the EPA in November to investigate what they called “a substantial body of evidence” gathered by Preserve Bent Mountain, an organization they represent.

Photographs and other documentation from construction sites indicate that work in streams and wetlands continued well past Oct. 5, 2018, when a permit for such activity was suspended by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charlie Williams and Tom Bondurant said at the time. It was not clear Friday if their request prompted the investigation mentioned by EQM in its SEC filing.

Chainsaw crews began cutting trees in February 2018, clearing a 125-foot wide swath for the 303-mile pipeline through West Virginia and Southwest Virginia. By spring, heavy equipment had moved in to grade land along steep mountainsides and dig trenches for the 42-inch diameter steel pipe.

Herring’s lawsuit, filed on behalf of VA-DEQ and the State Water Control Board, alleges more than 300 violations of erosion and sediment control measures, beginning as early as May 2018. The criminal probe appears to be focused on events that began later in what is expected to be a two-year construction period for the $4.6 billion project.

In their January letter to Mountain Valley, federal prosecutors directed the five companies that comprise the joint venture — along with their contractors, suppliers and other entities involved with construction — to preserve any relevant documents dating back to September 1st. The grand jury subpoena, which came a month later, was for documents going back to August 1st.

Environmental groups and other pipeline opponents were saying last summer that the worst environmental damage was yet to come, when Mountain Valley would begin blasting bedrock and digging trenches along the bottoms of streams to bury the pipe.

A lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club and others challenged a permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers that allowed stream crossings in West Virginia. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the permit October 2, 2018. Based on that ruling, a second Army Corps permit that covered Southwest Virginia was suspended three days later.

If Mountain Valley continued to work in streams and wetlands after losing its authorization from the Army Corps, that could constitute a criminal violation, Bondurant, a former federal prosecutor, said earlier.

Publicly traded companies are required by law to report any legal proceedings that might affect their operations to the SEC, which is responsible for protecting investors and maintaining public trust in U.S. markets.

In past filings, EQM has documented a number of lawsuits, most of them filed by environmental groups against regulatory agencies that granted permits or certifications to Mountain Valley.Thursday’s filing marked the first time a criminal investigation was mentioned.

On the same day, executives with EQM held a teleconference to discuss 2018 year-end results with financial analysts. They talked about the loss of several permits due to legal challenges, but did not bring up the criminal investigation.

Despite all the regulatory and legal difficulties to date, company officials said the project is still on schedule to be completed by the end of the year, when it will begin to transport natural gas to customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the country.

There are diverse views of the Greenbrier River over its long length

From the Indian Creek Watershed Association, November 4, 2018

Mountain Valley Pipeline’s plan to cross the Greenbrier River at Pence Springs has been in the news recently, and in the courtroom. On Tuesday, October 23rd, arguments were heard by Judge Robert A. Irons in the Summers County Courthouse about whether the WV Environmental Quality Board (EQB) erred in upholding WVDEP’s approval of a West Virginia Natural Streams Preservation Permit for MVP to cross the GreenbrierRiver. No ruling was made at the hearing.

In August 2017 Indian Creek Watershed Association (ICWA) joined the Greenbrier River Watershed Association (GRWA) and three landowners as a party to this appeal. ICWA is writing now to update our members and friends on the case and to explain why we think it’s important.

As ICWA members and other local residents sat in the courtroom last Tuesday, we realized that this case is really about three questions: 1) What defines the “natural character” of a river? 2) Did WV-DEP fail to do its job? and 3) Is MVP being granted undue entitlement not only to blast ditches through private land seized through eminent domain, but to treat the Greenbrier River like just another ditch?

1: What defines the “natural character” of a river?

The West Virginia Legislature clearly expresses its intent in establishing the West Virginia Natural Streams Preservation Act: “In order to assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not impound, flood or divert all streams within the State of West Virginia, leaving no streams designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition, it is hereby declared to be the public policy of this state to secure for the citizens of West Virginia of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of free-flowing streams possessing outstanding scenic, recreational, geological, fish and wildlife, botanical, historical, archeological or other scientific or cultural values.”
WV Code §22-13-2.

In another section it says: “these [protected streams] shall be administered for the use and enjoyment of the citizens of West Virginia in such manner as will leave them unimpaired for future use and enjoyment as free-flowing streams, and so as to provide for the protection and the preservation of these streams in their natural character.”
WV Code §22-13-4.

In the Summers County courtroom on Tuesday, MVP’s attorney tried to limit the focus narrowly to whether the pipeline construction would impound, divert or flood the stream. However, if those were the only characteristics of a natural stream under protection, there would be little difference between a river and a ditch.

The Greenbrier River is not only the longest free-flowing stream east of the Mississippi. It is teeming with aquatic and botanical life and rich in so many treasured qualities that make up its “natural character”. If the bedrock of the Greenbrier is split open and trenched from riverbank to riverbank, the physical integrity of the streambed will be forever impaired and so will the Greenbrier’s condition as a natural stream.

2: Did the WV-DEP fail to do its job?

By not requiring MVP to conduct the tests and studies needed to determine the possible impacts that pipeline construction would have on the Greenbrier’s “natural character” — or even the safety of MVP’s proposed method — DEP failed to uphold the Natural Streams Preservation Act.

Despite strong requests and comments from many experts, individuals and groups, including ICWA, WV-DEP never required MVP to conduct studies such as sedimentation and turbidity analyses, borings and core samples, accurate velocity and scour calculations, or aquatic life and nutrient assessments, all important to understand the natural characteristics of the Greenbrier and determine the likely impacts of MVP construction.

Beyond those studies, what happens when the Greenbrier floods suddenly in the middle of construction while half of the river is blocked by MVP’s “cofferdam”? What happens when huge steel pipes tear loose and float (or race) downstream, crashing into structures and backing up the river when they lodge against a bridge or other obstruction? What happens when increased sediment and scour carves away the already-too-narrow bank that supports Route 12/3?

WV-DEP imposed two “special conditions” on this permit: 1) Boat passage must be maintained at all times during construction. 2) In case of severe weather which may induce flooding all materials must be removed from the river until flooding subsides.

What are MVP’s calculations and approved plans to anticipate and deal with the safety of boats at all times and the all-too-likely scenario of a fast-rising flood due to an unpredicted high-intensity precipitation event like June 23, 2016? Such storms are becoming more frequent, more intense, and more unpredictable.

As the GRWA attorney contends, the intact streambed is the natural character of the Greenbrier. “The obvious way to maintain the natural character of the streambed is for [MVP] to spend a little bit more … to do the studies they were supposed to do.” There are other options available to MVP, he emphasized, including boring under the river or finding a different route.

3: Is MVP being granted undue entitlement?

It was clear at the EQB hearing in Charleston in February that even members of the EQB thought that more studies should have been done. The EQB chairman asked the WV-DEP attorney to explain “why the DEP did not take those actions if indeed those actions should have been taken. … Why did the DEP not assume that role?”

WV-DEP’s excuse was that the studies were not specified in the statute. But, it is not the job of the Legislature itself to dictate exactly what studies should be required. They leave that up to DEP as the GRWA attorney argued persuasively: “The fact that there are no rules is not a reason to cut corners. The fact that this statute exists shows the Legislature wants to do everything you can to make sure that the natural characteristics of this stream are preserved.”

In the end, the EQB ducked responsibility, almost sheepishly finding in favor of DEP and MVP, and explaining that they felt EQB’s “purview” was limited to whether DEP’s actions adhered to the statutory requirements.

Now MVP appears on track not only to blast trenches across land seized through eminent domain, but to arrogantly extend that entitlement to treat the Greenbrier River like just another ditch. The fact that the MVP attorney did all the talking for DEP on Tuesday spoke volumes. A DEP lawyer was present but silent, even when asked if he had anything to add.

One ray of light: MVP’s pattern of assumed entitlement — of calling the shots — is starting to be noticed. In late July 2018, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond vacated the permits issued by the US Forest Service and the US Bureau of Land Management for MVP to cross the Jefferson National Forest. In early October 2018, the Fourth Circuit Court vacated the permit granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for MVP to cross streams and wetlands in West Virginia.

In both of these cases, the Fourth Circuit judges expressed interest and concern about why these agencies seemed to be bending their actions to accommodate MVP.

What’s Next for the Mountain Valley Pipeline?

Right now, no MVP construction is allowed in West Virginia or Virginia streams and wetlands following the ruling that canceled the Army Corps of Engineers permit in West Virginia. Unfortunately, the FERC has not halted other construction, even though it remains possible that MVP may not be able to complete the project along their projected route.

In Hinton last week, the GRWA attorney requested that the Circuit Court send the Natural Streams Preservation Act case back to the EQB with instructions to consider the river’s natural characteristics and alternative options like a conventional bore. The MVP attorney asked for the permit to be upheld as is. Both attorneys acknowledged that there was no time pressure for an answer from the judge, in part because of the status of the Army Corps permit, but also because MVP would not be able to begin in-river construction until next summer because of water levels.

This permit and this case will have a lasting impact. MVP’s crossing of the Greenbrier River is the first river crossing permit issued under the Natural Streams Preservation Act. Whatever is decided will set precedent for future cases, whether on the Greenbrier or any of the other four protected natural streams.

ICWA believes that the Greenbrier is a river worthy of the fullest protection offered under West Virginia’s Natural Streams Preservation Act. The DEP and EQB should not be allowed to shirk their responsibility, and MVP should not feel entitled to treat the GreenbrierRiver like a lifeless ditch.

>>> Indian Creek Watershed Association, indiancreekwater@gmail.com

NOTE: ICWA is a 501c3 non-profit organization. Contributions are tax-deductible. To support the Indian Creek Watershed Association send a check: Please make your check payable to Indian Creek Watershed Association or ICWA. Mail to: Indian Creek Watershed Association, P.O. Box 711, Union, WV 24983.

See also: www.indiancreekwatershedassociation.org

Landowners facing irreparable harm from MVP, lawyers argue

From an Article by Kate Mishkin, Charleston Gazette-Mail, September 26, 2018

Mountain Valley Pipeline never sufficiently showed that it would face harm without access to landowners’ properties, lawyers for those landowners told the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, on Tuesday.

They also said that, as court battles over the pipeline continue to play out, the landowners are facing irreparable harm. Oral arguments were available on audio recording Wednesday.

The case challenges the preliminary injunctions issued by three district judges that granted Mountain Valley Pipeline immediate possession in condemnation proceedings. It’s the first of five pipeline hearings playing out in Richmond this week. On Friday, a panel of judges will hear arguments in two cases challenging permits issued to the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and two challenging the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

On Tuesday, though, lawyers challenged the injunction granted to developers, and their ability to take property without immediately compensating landowners. “You’d better believe losing possession is important to these landowners,” Christopher Johns, a lawyer for the landowners, said. “It’s substantive to them, and it makes a difference to them.”

Allowing early possession through a preliminary injunction through condemnation under the Natural Gas Act is far-reaching and unconstitutional, Johns argued. And Mountain Valley Pipeline’s claims of irreparable harm without access to land were only possible, not inevitable, said Derek Teaney, an Appalachian Mountain Advocates lawyer.

Mountain Valley Pipeline had said it would face economic loss and lose its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate without speedy access to properties, Teaney said. The project would span 300 miles from Northern West Virginia to Southwest Virginia.

Initial plans said the project would cost $3.7 billion and be completed by the end of 2018. But after a panel of judges on the 4th Circuit said the federal government had skirted rules when it approved the pipeline, and FERC halted the project. Developers say that halt pushed completion into 2019 and caused the price of the project to climb to $4.6 billion.

That decision was made by Judges Stephanie Thacker and William Traxler, and Chief Judge Roger Gregory. On Tuesday, Gregory and Judges James A. Wynn Jr. and Pamela Harris heard arguments. Gregory, though, questioned the general merits of eminent domain, calling it one of the “remnants of monarchy.”

“When it comes to condemnation, condemnation is the death penalty, in terms of property. We talk about life, liberty and property,” he said. “That’s the highest form of punishment. It’s death penalty, because I’m going to take from you what you own, because I’m the monarchy.”

Wade Massie, a lawyer for Mountain Valley Pipeline, maintained that developers had followed all the rules in gaining eminent domain. “We have a right to condemn now,” he said.

It takes a strong commitment to protect & preserve what we have!

An article of this title recently ran in the Wheeling Intelligencer. It represents a cave in by a significant environmental group that give the business oriented Intelligencer some thing to brag about. It is unlikely the report, “Improving Steep-Slope Pipeline Construction to Reduce Impacts to Natural Resources,” will meet the needs of our steep and rocky terrain.

It will be applied to the entire range of conditions from the soft soil and rock on the Appalachian Plateau through the folded Appalachian Mountains to the south and east. Through limestone karst, famous for caves and sinkholes and slopes up to and beyond 173% (60 degrees).

In places the fill will be the broken rock cut out to make the trench. This will make it impossible to divert the water off the right of way. It will divert water to flow down the broken rock in the ditches. In other places the long pipeline straight down the hill for hundreds of feet will have diversion ditches that deliver the diverted water off the right of way in additive fashion so large volumes will be aggregated in heavy rains. Pipelines in karst is asking for failure due to cave-ins and stream diversion.

If the pipe must go in, what is required is meticulous attention to local topography and geology and equally meticulous attention to small scale engineering. This is unlikely to occur due to the great cost involved.

The Nature Conservancy is doubtless well intentioned, but really not directed by people close to conditions involved.

>>> S. Tom Bond, Retired Chemistry Professor & Resident Farmer, Lewis County, WV

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Brief Comment on TNC Pipeline Project —

This is why I consider TNC foremost among the Shady Lady environmental groups, to put it politely.

They also collaborated with the gas industry on a study of how much methane leaks, with findings coming out much lower than independent studies. Looks to me like they aid industry much more than the environment, with this attitude that the pipelines must and will be built so we should do what we can to minimize the harm.

As far as I’m concerned, their main mission to collect funds to buy land which they then protect from development, is no better — I’ve seen allegations that they don’t always protect their lands and anyway this reinforces the idea that the rich legitimately own the Earth, and if we want any of it protected we have to buy it back from them.

>>> Mary Wildfire, Roane County, WV

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We might also consider this —

I believe TNC has a conservation easement that will be crossed by MVP and one of their motivators for this was to hold the company to a higher standard where they could, for their property.

Amy Mall, Land & Wildlife Program, National Resources Defense Council (NRDC)

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Letter to The TNC Magazine (August 13, 2018)

I am a retired mining engineer (B.S.; M.S.; P.E.) living in Rockingham County Virginia. I am writing in response to a “study” I just became aware of entitled “IMPROVING STEEP-SLOPE PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION TO REDUCE IMPACTS TO NATURAL RESOURCES” (link here).

This study was apparently a collaboration between the Nature Conservancy and 8 oil and gas companies. It’s unfortunate the input was so heavily weighted in favor of the companies that will profit from doing this type of work by externalizing the environmental costs to the public.

Your “study” seems to over simplify the issues involved in constructing a major natural gas pipeline through steep mountainous terrain, much of it containing karst. It fails to mention more active measures for monitoring pipeline stress and the installation of strain and displacement gages on and around the pipeline. Even with such measures, however, the construction of pipelines like the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast will cause significant and irreversible environmental damage. It will also cause significant economic losses to the people whose land is crossed by or near to the pipelines.

The installation of such fracked gas pipelines will also act as a driving force for further fracking of deep shale formations, which will cause even more environmental damage.

Your participation in the preparation of this document will be seen as a sellout and betrayal of the thousands of people who are opposed to such pipelines and whose lives will be so negatively impacted by them. I am disappointed in the position your organization has taken.

George M. Neall III, Rockingham County, Virginia

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Dear Friends,

I think any time you have a very large organization—and TNC is the largest environmental non-profit in the country if not the world—that does thousands of transactions and works globally, there are going to be problems that surface, whether they’re falsehoods, misunderstandings or actual wrongdoings. I know there have been misunderstandings when people have left land to TNC in their wills or by a donation while they’re living, with the incorrect assumption that TNC would manage the land as a nature preserve of sorts.

Like any company, TNC has to decide where to best devote its resources. Unless they’ve made a specific agreement with a donor to hold and manage their land a certain way, they are more likely to divest themselves of that asset and put the money toward higher-value conservation areas such as the rainforests or coral reefs.

They also have to make decisions regarding if and how they’ll work with industry. My experience has been that, right or wrong, they feel they can make more headway working with industry than against them. Their CEO is a former Goldman Sachs director, and not a conservation biologist, so that may sway how the organization makes decisions.

My gut tells me that TNC does far and away more good work than they get credit for.

Disclaimer: We have no relationship with TNC—and certainly no monetary relationship—besides jointly holding one conservation easement with them in Bedford County, VA, and running in some of the same professional circles as their Virginia staff.

David C. Perry, Executive Director
Blue Ridge Land Conservancy—An Accredited Land Trust
722 First St. SW Suite L, Roanoke, VA 24016
(540) 985-0000,
blueridgelandconservancy.org

One hundred years of activity: 1918 to 2018

“Erosion & Sedimentation (E&S) and Threatened & Endangered Species (T&E) Training”

Hosted by: PIOGA’s Environmental Committee

Date: Thursday, July 26, 2018

Location: Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Conference Room – Pittsburgh

Time: 8:30 AM – Registration, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM Training
(Lunch is provided)

Fee: $100 for PIOGA Members, $150 for Non-Members

Fee includes Continuing Education Units (CEU’s), and/or Professional Development Hours (PDH’s), and lunch.

PIOGA’s Environmental Committee is pleased to host this training in conjunction with our partners Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc., Fire Cherry Consulting, Inc., the Ruffed Grouse Society and Wilkes University.

E&S and T&E Species Training — This course is designed to provide information and updates on erosion and sedimentation controls and threatened and endangered species issues.

The five-hour class will cover the following topics:
1. Threatened & Endangered Species Update – Presented by Dan Maltese, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.,
2. Native Seed Mixes for Reclamation – Presented by Dr. Linda Ordiway of the Ruffed Grouse Society
3. Regulatory Update – Presented by Bruce Snyder, Fire Cherry Consulting, Inc. and Paul Kanouff, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc
4. PADEP ePermitting – Presented by Vince Scicchitano, P.E., Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
5. Lessons Learned for E&S Inspections – Presented by Eric Ondrasik and Marc Strini, Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.

The fee for this one-day training, which includes lunch, Continuing Education Units (CEU’s), and/or Professional Development Hours (PDH’s) is $100 per person for PIOGA members and $150 per person for non-members. Payment must be received prior to the training session.

>>> Registration: Click HERE to register online.

Deadline to register is Monday, July 23, 2018. Space is limited, register now!

Questions? Should you have any questions about the training or the CEU’s & PDH’s, please contact Deana McMahan (deana@pioga.org).

Cancellation Policy: You may cancel without penalty if written cancellation requests are received by July 23, 2018. Due to financial obligations incurred by the host, we will not provide a refund or credit after July 23, 2018. Please send all cancellation requests to Deana McMahan at deana@pioga.org.

Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc.
Conference Room
333 Baldwin Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
(412) 429-2324

WVDEP Launches Webpage Dedicated to Helping Citizens Learn About Pipeline Projects

From the WV-DEP Webpage, Pipeline Projects, April 2, 2018

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (April 2, 2018) – The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) has launched an easy to use webpage designed to help citizens learn more about five major proposed or under construction natural gas pipelines.

The page is available here.

The five pipelines that are the focus of the webpage are the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Mountain Valley Pipeline, the Mountaineer Gas Company Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project, Mountaineer Xpress Pipeline, and the Rover Pipeline.

“We are making sure that anyone who has any questions about these pipelines can find those answers on one easy to use webpage,” WVDEP Cabinet Secretary Austin Caperton said. “People who live near these projects deserve to be able to find answers to their questions quickly, and WVDEP is providing this new webpage to help them do that.”

Available on the webpage is information such as detailed maps of the proposed route of pipeline routes and a link to WVDEP’s searchable online database where additional information such as any inspection and enforcement action and any permit modifications can be found. Also available are public hearing transcripts, responses to comments received at public hearings, and press releases about the pipelines. The page will be updated as more information on each pipeline becomes available. Citizens will also be able to submit reports of possible permit violations via this webpage.

Major Pipelines Under Construction In West Virginia

Mountain Valley Pipeline

The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project is a natural gas pipeline that spans approximately 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia – and as an interstate pipeline will be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The MVP will be constructed and owned by Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, which is a joint venture of EQT Midstream Partners, LP; NextEra US Gas Assets, LLC; Con Edison Transmission, Inc.; WGL Midstream; and RGC Midstream, LLC. MVP has been issued a construction stormwater permit that covers the discharge of stormwater associated with the disturbance of approximately 4,214 acres of land for the construction of approximately 196 miles of natural gas pipeline along with compressor stations, meter stations, access roads, and interconnects through Wetzel, Harrison, Doddridge, Lewis, Braxton, Webster, Nicholas, Greenbrier, Fayette, Summers, and Monroe Counties in West Virginia.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) is a natural gas pipeline being developed by a partnership of four companies: Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and Southern Company Gas. The ACP has been issued a construction stormwater permit for the disturbance of approximately 2,497 acres of land for the construction of approximately 98.7 miles of natural gas pipeline along with a compressor station, meter stations, access roads, and interconnects through Harrison, Lewis, Upshur, Randolph, and Pocahontas Counties in West Virginia.

Mountaineer Xpress Pipeline

The Mountaineer Xpress Pipeline (MXP) is a natural gas pipeline consisting of approximately 170.9 miles (3,648 acres) of various diameter pipelines, modifications to three existing compressor stations, the construction of three new compressor stations, three new regulating stations, and a number of other modifications at various aboveground facility sites. The MXP has been issued a construction stormwater permit for activities in West Virginia. Project activities will occur throughout Marshall, Wetzel, Tyler, Doddridge, Ritchie, Calhoun, Wirt, Roane, Jackson, Mason, Putnam, Cabell, Wayne and Kanawha counties in West Virginia.

Mountaineer Gas Company Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project

The Mountaineer Gas Company Eastern Panhandle Expansion Project is a proposed project that is comprised of approximately 23 miles of natural gas pipeline through: Morgan and Berkeley Counties in West Virginia. This registration would be for the discharge of stormwater associated with the disturbance of 191.7 acres of land for the construction of the project.

Rover Pipeline

The Rover Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline that will span approximately 713-miles originating in southeastern Ohio, northwestern West Virginia, and southwestern Pennsylvania. The pipeline continues north across the state of Ohio to an interconnection in Defiance, Ohio. It will then cross into Michigan where it will terminate in Livingston County. There are three laterals of the pipeline in West Virginia: the Burgettstown lateral (5.5 miles of 36-inch diameter steel natural gas pipeline disturbing 87.70 acres in Hancock County), the Majorsville lateral (12.3 miles of 24-inch diameter steel natural gas pipeline, a compressor station, a meter station, and a laucher pad disturbing 159.9 acres of land in Marshall County), and the Sherwood lateral (35.7 miles of 36 inch diameter and 5.8 miles of 24-inch diameter steel natural gas pipelines, a meter station, and compressor station, disturbing 713.8 acres in Wetzel, Tyler, and Doddridge counties).

If you would like to notify WVDEP’s Environmental Enforcement of a potential issue with these pipelines, please submit a report through our online portal here on our website.

The number to report an emergency spill is 1-800-642-3074. Complaints can also be emailed to DEP.EEWebcomplaint@wv.gov.

See also: www.Appalmad.org

FERC Rubber Stamps Fracked Gas Pipelines Despite Widespread Concerns and Opposition

— Certificates for Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline Continue Dangerous Trend —

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), after recently regaining a quorum, granted federal approval for the fracked gas Atlantic Coast (ACP) and Mountain Valley (MVP) pipelines. Fracked gas is primarily composed of methane, a dangerous pollutant 87 times more potent than carbon dioxide over the first 20 years in the atmosphere. Commissioner LaFleur notably dissented, saying the pipelines were not in the public interest.

Both the ACP and MVP would take fracked gas from West Virginia to southern Virginia, slicing through some of the most beautiful parts of the Blue Ridge Mountains and our national forests, with the ACP continuing into eastern North Carolina, crossing more than 1,000 waterways. If the pipeline receives the necessary state approvals, construction will pollute pristine streams and rivers, further threaten endangered species that are already on the brink, devastate forested wetlands and other valuable ecosystems, and threaten communities with the dangers of an explosion. The Sierra Club and a broad coalition of environmental and community groups plan to urge FERC to reconsider its decision.

Additional federal and state permits are required before construction can begin. North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia are each considering the potential water quality impacts of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline and must grant Water Quality Certification (WQC) under section 401 of the Clean Water Act before construction may proceed. North Carolina has delayed its WCQ decision on the ACP and asked the pipeline developer for more specific information on how it will affect certain water crossings. Virginia has yet to issue WQC for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and Sierra Club’s lawsuit against West Virginia recently resulted in the state asking the Court to allow it to reconsider its certificate for the MVP. Several other federal reviews are still required, including a separate Endangered Species Act analysis, air permits, and local land use approvals for the fracked gas compressor stations and other facilities along the route.

Contact: Doug Jackson, (202) 495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org

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##### — Virginia Marine Resources Commission — #####

PUBLIC NOTICE — RE: Mountain Valley Pipeline, October 16, 2017

PUBLIC NOTICE: Notice is hereby given that Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC has requested authorization from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to install a natural gas pipeline beneath the bed of 18 streams and/or rivers with drainage areas greater than 5 square miles, which are considered to be State-owned subaqueous bottomlands of the Commonwealth along the designed pipeline corridor in Giles, Montgomery, Franklin and Pittsylvania Counties for the Mountain Valley Project (MVP).

Send comments/inquiries within 15 days to: Marine Resources Commission, Habitat Management Division, 2600 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Newport News, Virginia 23607. (624374)

Source: http://www.roanoke.com/classifieds/community/announcements/legal/public-notice/ad_82c9a6a7-53fc-5955-b11e-6471439bcea2.html