Jefferson National Forest in path of proposed MVP

From an Appeal for Comments by Appalachian Voices, November 6, 2020

The company behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline wants to destroy a large swath of the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia’s mountains to build the unneeded, fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. The U.S. Forest Service is considering breaking 11 of its own conservation rules governing old-growth forests, scenic viewsheds, soil health and more to accommodate a for-profit company.

Public forests shouldn’t be destroyed for private gain. Ask the Forest Service to select its proposed Alternative 1, for “No Action,” and reject the 11 proposed amendments to prevent unnecessary damage to Jefferson National Forest!

Take Action NOW

Tell the U.S. Forest Service not to allow the destruction of public forests for private gain (…. Sign here! … )

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To: Jim Hubbard, Under Secretary U.S. Department of Agriculture

Subject: Comments Re: Mountain Valley Pipeline and Equitrans Expansion Project Draft Supplemental EIS # 50036

Dear Mr. Hubbard:

The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and Equitrans Expansion Project Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) #50036 proposes amendments to 11 crucial standards that are essential for protecting the Jefferson National Forest. The proposed changes to standards for soil health, old-growth forest, forest edge, species competition and scenic viewshed standards would bring significant harmful impacts to the Jefferson National Forest. These changes serve as conveniences for the fossil fuel developer, to the detriment of lands that are held in the public trust.

Although the U.S. Forest Service posits there are two alternatives — (1) no action, or (2) rewriting the rules — there is only one acceptable path: taking no action and avoiding harm to the Jefferson National Forest. Allowing the Forest Service to break 11 of its own rules to accommodate a for-profit company sets an alarming precedent for similar rule-breaking on national forests across the country. These allowances run counter to the Forest Service’s mandate to “sustain healthy, diverse, and productive forests and grasslands for present and future generations.”

The draft SEIS makes the unsupportable argument in its suggestion to change amendment FW-248 of the National Forest Management Act that the “beneficial effect” of MVP is the “same as the effect of the proposed action,” or that the economic benefit for a private corporation justifies environmental disturbance on public land. This stance presumes that the project will be operational, despite the project’s ongoing legal setbacks and financial uncertainties, and it perpetuates the false narrative that the MVP is needed for domestic use. MVP’s purported need, announced in 2016, has not surfaced, as domestic demand for gas continues to be flat. Altering amendment FW-248 sets a precedent that could encourage additional unneeded fossil-fuel infrastructure across the Forest Service system, as it equates beneficial effect with economic development that is highly speculative at best. Further permissions for future projects means further cumulative impacts to waterways and soil on national forest land.

There are six soil and riparian standards in the Jefferson National Forest plan (FW-5, FW-8, FW-9, FW-13, FW-14 and 11-003) that would need to be permanently altered to allow the MVP to be constructed. These alterations exempting the operational right-of-way and construction zone of the MVP are blanket, open-ended exceptions that should not be considered. Although the draft SEIS states that there would only be minor and temporary adverse effects to soil compaction and riparian habitats, altering the basic soil structure in the path of the pipeline would cause permanent, long-term changes in the way the soil holds water. Compacted soils alter root growth, change vegetation types and increase runoff. These impacts would be difficult to mitigate, as maintenance activities would amount to repeated harm to the environment in the active right-of-way of the pipeline. Riparian zones are protected areas due to their unique ability to buffer waterways from sediment and nutrient runoff, stabilize banks, shade and regulate stream temperatures, and provide much of the food sources for river ecosystems. Allowing clearing and construction in the streamside corridors circumvents this protection, and furthermore, it significantly increases the possibility of continued water quality degradation from sediment loading.

To date, improper and inadequate sediment and erosion control practices during construction along the route of the MVP have led to more than 300 water quality violations in Virginia, which have been the subject of an enforcement action by the state’s Attorney General.

Although MVP contends that a limited area (two acres out of approximately 30,200 acres) of old-growth forests will be affected in the Jefferson National Forest, there are so few old-growth forests left in the Eastern United States that any impacts should be considered very seriously. Old-growth forests are beneficial to us as they are one of the few areas of land where topsoil is created and more carbon and nitrogen is retained than in younger forest stands. Exempting MVP from the management standard 6C-026 that designates old-growth forests as unsuitable for new utility corridors is unacceptable. The permanent right-of-way would create permanent edge habitats right next to old-growth forests. The loss of a buffer zone around the old-growth forests and the effect of introduced competitive, invasive plant and animal species the edge habitat would promote would be extremely difficult to mitigate. This could lead to deleterious effects on the critical habitats and interior forest species that reside in old-growth forests of the Jefferson National Forest.

The proposed amendments that would impact the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Scenery Integrity Objectives make the same false assumption that the project is inevitable and that mitigation is the only available option. The amendment to 4A028 acknowledges that the project would have adverse impacts, but incorrectly minimizes the severity of those impacts on these public resources. Boring under the trail would result in lasting impacts to the geology of the area and negatively impact groundwater supplies. The listed “minor” temporary adverse effects from noise, dust and visual intrusions are more harmful than summarized. Sustained noise during construction is disruptive to species’ communication, predator avoidance and effective use of habitat. Sound disruptions would be intensified as the developer rushes to give the appearance of meeting repeatedly delayed project timelines.

The amendment to FW-184 allows an alarming five-year window after completion of the construction phase for MVP to attain the current Scenic Integrity Objectives for the crossing. Within that time frame, the project may be abandoned, and mitigation of damage from the crossing may not occur, as MVP is a limited liability company. Granting exception after exception for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, excluding it from the Forest Scenic Integrity Objectives Maps’ governance and giving significant allowances for mitigation timelines would have long-term, harmful consequences to the natural resources and recreational assets of the Jefferson National Forest, and would set a dangerous precedent for all national forests.

For the reasons stated above, I ask that the U.S. Forest Service select Alternative 1, for “No Action,” and reject the 11 proposed amendments to prevent unnecessary damage to Jefferson National Forest.

Sincerely, ________________________

( …….. Sign This Petition ……..)

Larger pipe size in steep terrain results in land slides and water pollution

News from the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance, Update #282, June 25, 2020

The U.S. Forest Service has been cautioned that it should not depend upon the reliability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) developed in 2017 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) as the agency develops a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the project.

The Forest Service announced on June 11 that it was developing a SEIS in response to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ vacating of the Forest Service permit for the ACP. While one portion of that opinion (e.g. authority to grant the ACP the right to cross the Appalachian Trail) was overturned on June 15 by the U.S. Supreme Court, several deficiencies in the permit for the ACP are required to be remedied by the Forest Service before it can issue the ACP a new permit.

The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) stated in a June 22 letter to the Forest Service:

The Forest Service cannot continue to rely on FERC’s obsolete FEIS. The original analyses of potential alternatives to the project and the environmental consequences of its risky and costly preferred route are in question. Significant, new and relevant information related to endangered and threatened species, water quality, landslides and slope failures, environmental justice communities, and climate change demonstrates the original analysis is stale and incapable of allowing effective review of the environmental consequences of the project. Meanwhile, the energy landscape of the region the ACP purports to serve also has transformed dramatically, the costs of the project have ballooned, and its timeline has been pushed back.

A motion was filed with FERC on May 30 by SELC, Appalachian Mountain Advocates and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation asking that FERC conduct an SEIS for the ACP to address significant new information bearing on the project’s environmental impacts.

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New Biological Assessment Filed With FERC, But Not Made Public

News from the Allegheny Blue Ridge Alliance, Update #282, June 25, 2020

Dominion Energy Transmission, Inc. filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on June 22 a new Biological Assessment (BA) for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP), but designated the information as “privileged and confidential” and thus not available to the public.

The new BA, which was developed in consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), is a necessary step toward the issuance of a new Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement (BiOp/ITC) for the ACP, as required under the Endangered Species Act. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals had previously twice vacated the BiOp/ITC for the ACP, which led to construction activity on the ACP being suspended in December 2018.

Southern Environmental law Center wrote FERC on June 24 requesting that a public version of the new BA be posted on the FERC docket within five business days (by June 30), in accordance with statutory requirements.

MVP too large and terrain too steep for WV & VA

From an Article by Laurence Hammack, Roanoke Times, May 3, 2020

Land movement in a construction area shifted a section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline after it was buried along a West Virginia slope, according to a report filed by environmental regulators.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission report stated that “crews verified that the installed pipe shifted … in at least three locations south of Brush Run Road” in Lewis County, about 50 miles from where the natural gas pipeline begins a 303-mile route that takes it through Southwest Virginia.

Inspectors blamed the problem on what’s called a slip, or the gradual movement of land on its own in an area cleared for the pipeline. Although it was not clear how far the pipe had moved, the report alarmed those who have warned against building such a large pipeline in mountainous terrain.

“That’s a big-time concern,” said Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Association. Had pressurized gas been flowing through the finished pipeline, which has been under construction for the past two years, any underground movement could possibly cause a rupture and explosion, Rosser said.

A Mountain Valley spokeswoman, however, said the FERC report focused on environmental concerns and did not delve into technical issues of pipeline construction.

“At this time, there is no direct information to indicate that the pipe has shifted along this portion of the route and this information will not be known until a full investigation is complete,” Natalie Cox wrote in an email. After the issue was discovered April 8, an investigation was launched as “an additional precautionary matter,” the email stated.

Crews will dig up the pipe, which generally is buried eight to 10 feet deep, to ensure its integrity and placement. “Additional mitigation controls will be installed if necessary,” Cox wrote.

There have been no other issues of this type in completed areas of the project, she said. Construction began two years ago, and Mountain Valley said the $5.5 billion project is 90% done and slated for completion by the end of the year.

Opponents of the project worry that similar problems with the pipe shifting after it’s buried could occur in parts of Southwest Virginia, where construction is not as far along.

“They have landslides and slips and failures all the time,” said Diana Christopulos, a Roanoke-area environmental advocate who has been monitoring the pipeline since it was first proposed five years ago. “Putting the pipe in the ground does not solve the problem.”

The region’s steep slopes and karst topography make it “pretty challenging terrain,” pipeline safety consultant Richard Kuprewicz said.

Regulators in both Virginia and West Virginia have cited Mountain Valley for failing to comply with erosion and sediment control measures hundreds of times. But the shifting of pipe described in the FERC report was the first of its kind.

Using line locators to monitor installed pipelines

The first sign that something was amiss came about a month ago. According to a weekly summary report of environmental compliance, recently filed on the FERC online docket, the commission’s compliance monitor was notified by Mountain Valley officials of a problem April 8 at the West Virginia construction site. “Movements of the slips” in at least three locations had caused the 42-inch diameter pipe to shift, the report stated.

A slip, also known as land creep, is the gradual movement of soil and rock down a slope and is not as serious as a landslide, said Kuprewicz, a chemical engineer who worked for years in the gas industry and now consults on pipeline safety issues as president of Accufacts Inc. in Redmond, Washington.

The FERC report does not indicate how far the pipe shifted. Survey crews marked where the pipe had originally been laid, and workers dug potholes and used line locators to determine its current location, the report states. Asked about the incident last Wednesday, a FERC spokeswoman said the agency would answer emailed questions “as soon as we can.” No response had been received by 5 p.m. Friday.

FERC listed the incident as a “communication report,” meaning that it could be resolved by discussion between its compliance monitor and Mountain Valley representatives. A communication report is the least serious type of non-compliance listed in FERC’s weekly summary of environmental monitoring. Other write-ups can be for problem areas, non-compliance and serious violations.

Kuprewicz, who reviewed the report on the shifting pipe for The Roanoke Times, said it didn’t contain enough details for him to make an informed opinion about how serious the problem was. “Land slip on its own is not a big deal, depending on the details,” he wrote in an email. However, “the fact that the document mentions three sites calls for further investigation to see if there is a possible systemic issue for the pipeline and its right-of-way.”

According to Cox, Mountain Valley is designed, like all interstate pipelines, to withstand minor ground shifting as the pipe begins to settle in the final stages of construction. That may be true, Kuprewicz said, but it’s important to monitor a land slip closely to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand. “Land creep could eventually result in rupture if it moves the pipe too much too quickly,” he wrote.

An earlier inspection by FERC officials in March — before the shift in the pipeline was discovered — found that two of the three slips at the Lewis County construction site had increased in their size and movement. The leading cause of slips is poor water management on sloped land, Kuprewicz said. Rainfall “starts to liquify the soil and gravity never shuts off,” his email stated.

Cox said the environmental inspector was correct in assessing ground movement so that construction crews could quickly stabilize any areas of concern. “However, it’s important to note that environmental assessments do not necessarily indicate issues with movement or the technical construction of the pipe,” she wrote.

Project delayed for multiple reasons

By now, Mountain Valley officials had hoped to resume construction of a pipeline that will transport 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day to markets along the East Coast. But except for stabilization and erosion control work, the project remains in a state of limbo.

A series of legal challenges by environmental groups have led to the suspension of three sets of permits — one for the pipeline to pass through the Jefferson National Forest, a second for it to cross more than 1,000 streams and wetlands and a third for it to be built in a way that does not jeopardize endangered or threatened species.

After the most recent lawsuit claimed that protected fish and bats were not properly taken into account by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, FERC last October ordered a stop to all active construction until the issues could be resolved.

The Fish and Wildlife Service began work on a new biological opinion, the document that allows pipeline construction if there is no substantial harm to plants or wildlife. Originally due in December, work on the opinion was extended three times, with the most recent deadline of April 27.

The ruling “has a nationwide effect, is extremely disruptive, and contrary to the public interest,” lawyers for the U.S. Justice Department wrote in a motion seeking a stay of Judge Brian Morris’s ruling. The attorneys also asked Morris to limit the scope of his decision to the Keystone pipeline.

About 5,500 projects, including Mountain Valley, were awaiting approval from the Corps when the permit was struck down, according to the motion. “Many likely have nothing to do with oil and gas pipelines at all,” such as power lines, water mains and broadband cable, the government said.

If the projects were forced to seek individual permits from the Corps, which require more analysis than the Nationwide Permit 12, it would take the agency an average of 264 days to process each case, the motion states.

The Justice Department asked Morris to rule on its request for a stay by May 11. If that fails, it will appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Height Capital Markets, an investment banking firm that issues weekly reports on Mountain Valley and other pipelines, wrote in an April 27 update that it was growing “increasingly concerned” about the case’s impact.

“At this point, we believe it’s too early to shift our late 2020 in-service target for MVP and need to see what actions the Trump administration takes,” the report stated, “though the odds of a 2020 completion are certainly trending down.”

Map from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 18, 2015

From the Allegheny – Blue Ridge Alliance, ABRA Update #257, December 19, 2019

Efforts by Dominion Energy to convince Congress to approve having the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) cross the Appalachian National Scenic Trail have not yielded results.

For most of the past year Dominion has been seeking to have a rider added to other legislation that would, in effect, overturn the decision of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that vacated the permit for the ACP issued by the U.S. Forest Service.

Within the past week, two prominent bills that were believed to be possible vehicles for the Dominion amendment – the National Defense Authorization Act and the continuing resolution funding the Federal Government –passed without language addressing the AT issue.

For now, the issue remains pending before the U.S. Supreme Court, which is scheduled to hear arguments on an appeal of the Fourth Circuit decision on the case (U.S. Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et. al.) on February 24. A decision on the case is anticipated to be announced in June.

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Dominion still sees U.S. Atlantic Coast natgas pipe online in 2022 despite Morgan Stanley’s doubts

From an Article by Scott DiSavino, Reuters News Service, December 16, 2019

(Reuters) – Dominion Energy Inc said on Monday it was confident it will complete the proposed $7.3-$7.8 billion Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina by early 2022, in response to a prediction by investment bank Morgan Stanley that a court decision would likely scuttle the project.

“We remain committed to completing the project for the good of our economy and the environment,” Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said, noting the company expected to complete construction in late 2021 with final in-service in early 2022.

Dominion made its comments after Morgan Stanley said in a report that “Atlantic Coast will likely not be completed given the Fourth Circuit’s likely (in the bank’s view) rejection, for the third time, of a newly issued Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement that we expect to come by the first quarter of 2020.”

In July, the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) second Biological Opinion because the court found the agency’s decisions were arbitrary and would jeopardize the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee and other endangered species.

Federal agencies use Biological Opinions when authorizing projects that could adversely affect threatened or endangered species or critical habitats, and issue take statements to limit the number of those species that could be harmed. Ruby said Dominion expects the FWS will issue a new Biological Opinion in the first half of 2020.

Dominion suspended construction of the 600-mile (966-kilometer) project in December 2018 after the Fourth Circuit stayed the FWS’ second Biological Opinion.

Dominion and its partners, Duke Energy Corp and Southern Co., are also working through a dispute over where the pipeline can cross the Appalachian Trail. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the Appalachian Trail case, which is also important for the construction of EQM Midstream Partners LP’s Mountain Valley gas pipe from West Virginia to Virginia.

The Supreme Court may issue a ruling in May or June 2020. So, the Appalachian Trail dispute may be resolved by a Supreme Court decision or an administrative or legislative solution.

A route revision was the likely compromise for the endangered species dispute but noted that could boost the project’s costs to around $8 billion and push completion into 2022.

When Dominion started work on the 1.5 billion cubic feet per day pipe in the spring of 2018, the company estimated it would cost $6.0-$6.5 billion and be completed in late 2019.