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.

MVP pipeline has violations and court challenges

From an Article by Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times, May 14, 2019

Developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline have agreed to pay a fine of nearly $266,000 for violating environmental regulations in West Virginia.

The agreement, outlined in a consent order from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, marks the first financial penalty for problems with storm water runoff caused by building a 303-mile pipeline that will also cross the New River and Roanoke valleys.

Photographs included in the 179-page document show a “drastic change” in streams since work on the buried pipeline began last winter, said Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition. “These are clear-running streams and they have been forever,” Rosser said. “And you look at the photos now and they are just brown.”

Mountain Valley faces similar issues in Virginia. A lawsuit filed in December by the Department of Environmental Quality alleges more than 300 violations of erosion and sediment control measures. Online court records indicate the case is still pending.

In West Virginia, 26 notices of violation filed from April to November of last year were resolved by the consent order.

The agreement, signed May 6 by Robert Cooper, Mountain Valley’s senior vice president for engineering and construction, states the company will pay a fine of $265,972 and submit a plan of corrective action to state regulators.

A public comment period on the agreement runs through June 20.

Most of the violations “were the result of unprecedented rainfall throughout the spring and summer of 2018,” Mountain Valley spokeswoman Natalie Cox wrote in an email.

“MVP appreciates the oversight of the WVDEP and the MVP team will continue to work closely with project inspectors to maintain its high standards of safety and environmental stewardship,” the email said.

The $4.6 billion project is still scheduled for completion by late this year, Cox wrote. However, at least two members of the five-partner venture have said in recent financial reports that a delay is likely, considering legal challenges that led to suspended permits.

Rosser said the fine, which represents well less than 1% of the project’s cost, is unlikely to lead to significant change. “The concern is that paying the fine is cheaper than doing it right in the first place,” she said.

Mountain Valley and other pipelines being built in West Virginia have all encountered the same problems, Rosser said, and it’s becoming apparent that state-approved plans to control erosion are not working.

“It’s a lot of erosion and a lot of sediment that doesn’t belong in our streams,” she said. “Looking at the photos, you just can’t deny that these pipelines affect water quality.”

Critics say the worst pollution will come when crews begin to run the 42-inch diameter pipe through streams and wetlands. Water body crossings have been on hold since October, when the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals threw out a permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Mountain Valley hopes to obtain new permits from the Corps later this year.

But the project must also get renewed approval to cross through the Jefferson National Forest — a process that was complicated by a separate opinion from the 4th Circuit that invalidated a U.S. Forest Service approval for the crossing of the Appalachian Trail by a similar project, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

About two-thirds of the pipeline, which will transport natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica deposits to a pipeline in Pittsylvania County, is in West Virginia, where problems with construction were first documented by state regulators.

The consent order from West Virginia documents a variety of improper steps taken by Mountain Valley to control erosion. Sediment-laden water often left the construction sites and made its way into nearby streams and rivers, the order states.

Other violations included a failure to clean debris from adjacent public and private roads, a lack of temporary stabilization of areas where construction was dormant for more than 21 days, and no reseeding of denuded areas where vegetation had failed to take root after 30 days.

In a written defense to the lawsuit claiming regulation violations in Virginia, lawyers for the company blamed the problems on “extraordinary, high-intensity storm events and flooding beyond MVP’s control.”

They also wrote that the company would be willing to settle the Virginia case.

Proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline thru WV Streams

Mountain Valley Pipeline 401 Application

From the WV Rivers Coalition, MVP Update, March 15, 2017

The Mountain Valley Pipeline, a proposed 42 inch natural gas interstate pipeline, has submitted their Section 401 Water Quality Certification Application to the WVDEP.

WV Rivers has reviewed the application and submitted comments to the WV Department of Environmental Protection on the application, which you can read here.

Our analysis finds that the application is inadequate and requests that the WVDEP give the Mountain Valley Pipeline an incomplete application notice.

Add your voice to the permitting process and send comments to the WV-DEP.

See also: MVP Public Comment Information