Groups challenge Virginia’s unlawful approval of fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline

Contact:
Ben Luckett, 859.552.6979, bluckett@appalmad.org
Derek Teaney, 304.793.9007, dteaney@appalmad.org
Peter Anderson, 434-293-6373, peter@appvoices.org
Doug Jackson, 202.495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
Mike Tidwell, 240-460-5838, mtidwell@chesapeakeclimate.org

RICHMOND, VA — A coalition of environmental groups today filed a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to overturn Virginia’s unlawful approval yesterday of the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline. Attorneys with Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed the litigation on behalf of Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Sierra Club and Wild Virginia.

Today’s filing comes a day following the Virginia State Water Control Board issued a certificate for the project that is required under the Clean Water Act. The board voted 5-2 on Thursday at the conclusion of two days of meetings that included dozens of citizens giving comments, almost entirely against the pipeline. The board takes up the same consideration for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline next week.

>> Today’s filing can be downloaded here.

The board followed the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) recommendation to approve the project without requiring any assessment of how much pollution the pipeline would add to Virginia’s waters. The DEQ recognized that pipeline construction could cause significant harmful sedimentation in the steep, landslide-prone terrain the Mountain Valley Pipeline would cross, as have many other agencies and experts. Despite that, the board concluded that erosion control plans would protect water quality, event though it has not seen the plans because the DEQ did not include them as part of the consideration for the certificate. Similar plans, however, have failed to prevent significant sediment pollution on pipeline construction projects in other states through much less challenging terrain.

Although construction of interstate gas infrastructure is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, individual states have the authority to protect their water from the impacts of fracked gas pipelines.

Peter Anderson, Virginia Program Manager for Appalachian Voices:
“We are extremely disappointed the board voted to approve the pipeline without the information required to support its decision. Throughout the entire process, the DEQ sought to limit public participation, the information it shared with the board, and the scope of the board’s authority. The inevitable damage to water resources across our mountains is unacceptable, so we are taking our fight to the courts. We will stand up for the people whose water, homes, and livelihoods are threatened by the Mountain Valley Pipeline.”

Sierra Club Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign Director Kelly Martin:
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline will cause severe sediment pollution in streams, springs, and waterways across Virginia, and not a single foot of pipe should be laid before the Commonwealth conducts a comprehensive analysis of the MVP’s water quality impacts. People, businesses and communities throughout Virginia depend on access to clean water and the Commonwealth should be looking out for them, not corporate polluters.”

Mike Tidwell, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network:
“The Chesapeake Climate Action Network strongly condemns this decision, and the McAuliffe Administration’s support for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Virginians rightfully expected that a project this massive, which would cross hundreds of streams and tear through steep, mountainous terrain, would be subject to rigorous environmental review. Instead, the McAuliffe Administration pushed the board to approve the pipeline with a promise of future analysis but without providing critical information. This rushed decision, if allowed to stand, will harm farmers, consumers, drinking water, and the climate and constitutes a colossal misallocation of resources.”

David Sligh, Conservation Director of Wild Virginia:
“The Virginia State Water Control Board had a clear duty, to look at all potential impacts to state waters from the Mountain Valley Pipeline and make sure our water quality standards are upheld. Instead, the board went along with the DEQ’s approach of arbitrarily segmenting its review and shirking its legal duties. This approach was clearly constructed by DEQ to avoid the conclusion that would come from a scientifically valid assessment – that this project cannot be built as proposed in a way that protects our waters and our communities.”

###