Local residents, grassroots organizations call on North Carolina regulators to deny Mountain Valley Pipeline’s water permit application for Southgate project

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 13, 2025

CONTACT
Dan Radmacher, Media Specialist, (276) 289-1018, dan@appvoices.org 

EDEN, N.C. — On Tuesday, Aug. 12, community leaders, grassroots organizations and members of the public spoke out against Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Southgate project at a public hearing on MVP’s application for a 401 water quality permit.

MVP Southgate is a high-pressure methane gas pipeline proposed to run through Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham County, North Carolina. In 2020, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality denied MVP’s first 401 permit application for Southgate. North Carolina regulators are now reviewing a new MVP application with a changed route and an increase in the capacity of the project. MVP developers announced the new plan in December 2023.

MVP Southgate has been controversial since it was first proposed in 2018. It would connect to the destructive MVP mainline project in West Virginia and Virginia, force easements through private property, disturb waterways and increase reliance on methane gas, which contributes to climate change and higher bills as fuel costs rise. Over the years, thousands of individuals have spoken out against the project. MVP originally expected Southgate to be operational by late 2020, and now predicts a mid-2028 in-service date — eight years behind schedule. 

During the hearing, community members shared concerns about the pipeline’s impacts on the Dan River. 

“We’ve learned that with any significant rainfall, our waters are running brown, especially the Dan [River], said Steven Pulliam, the Dan Riverkeeper. “Today, when you’re going back to where you came from, look at the Dan River when you go over it. It’s going to be brown, it’s going to be nasty. Fish habitats are washing away. We’ve seen [MVP]’s history of the past eight years through our neighbors to the north. They cannot show proof in their many years of existence that they take any consideration for our water quality, people who have to drink the water downstream, the cost it brings us when we have to mitigate the turbidity in our water.”

Buck Purgason of Good Stewards of Rockingham shared some of the local concerns for wildlife.

“Only eight rivers in the United States naturally spawn striped bass, and the Dan River’s one of them,” Purgason said. “The low water [levels] and sediment, it’s not good for spawning fish. … Deny this permit. Do not let them mess up a fishery that’s been here for ages. … It’s important to look downstream of what’s going to happen, and not just here in Rockingham County.”

For many in attendance, Mountain Valley Pipeline’s track record of over 350 water quality violations and more than $3 million in fines during construction in West Virginia and Virginia was a reason to deny the permit.

Joshua Vana, director of Artivism Virginia, lives in a community directly affected by the Mountain Valley pipeline mainline project. 

“Along the mainline in West Virginia and Virginia, the abuses to water quality continue constantly,” Vana said. There is out of control sedimentation from storms, and MVP’s controls fall apart or are poorly maintained. This project is completely incompatible with the terrain where I live, and barely more compatible with the terrain here.”

The Southgate project is proposed to supply methane gas to new proposed Duke Energy gas-fired power plants in Person County to generate electricity. Studies indicate that methane gas infrastructure may contribute to climate change as much as coal due to leaks from venting, drilling, extraction, transportation through pipelines and equipment malfunctions. 

“In the long run, the greatest threat to safe, accessible drinking water is climate change,” said Stephanie Gans, Assistant Director of Clean Water for North Carolina. “Extreme storms like Tropical Storm Chantal and Hurricane Helene have already deprived communities of clean drinking water for days or even weeks. Approving MVP Southgate would continue the use of methane gas, making that worse and increasing North Carolina’s utility bills overall.”

“Furthermore, there is uncertainty around the need for the Southgate project,” said Juhi Modi, North Carolina Field Coordinator for Appalachian Voices. “Duke Energy’s load projections behind its proposed gas plants are based on speculative future energy demand from data centers and manufacturing facilities that may not even materialize. If Southgate is approved, it could become underutilized but still impose the same harmful impacts on waterways, communities, the environment and even our electric bills.”

Residents also expressed concern around the ratepayer impacts of the proposed project and the financial incentives pipeline developers and utility companies, like Duke Energy, receive to build expensive pipelines and power plants.

“State law allows Duke [Energy] to pass along the costs of the pipeline construction to consumers, even when we in Rockingham County may not directly benefit,” said Ann Brady, a Rockingham County resident. “My bill is going to increase so that Duke can feed power plants elsewhere. Companies make a profit by building pipelines even if they are not needed or used.”

About Appalachian Voices

Appalachian Voices is a leading nonprofit advocate for a healthy environment and just economy in the Appalachian region, and a driving force in America’s shift from fossil fuels to a clean energy future. appvoices.org

About Good Stewards of Rockingham

Good Stewards is an accredited 501(c)3 organization based in Mayodan, NC. Our mission is to protect and preserve the environment for current residents and the generations to come. danriverkeeper.org 

About Clean Water for North Carolina Clean Water for North Carolina is a non-profit promoting clean, safe water and environments and empowered, just communities for all North Carolinians through outreach, advocacy, education, and technical assistance. cwfnc.org