Late on Friday, the Army Corps of Engineers suspended the authorization of Nationwide Permit 12 for MVP in the Pittsburgh District, which impacts the northern portion of the pipeline’s route. This comes almost three weeks after the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the authorization for the Huntington District in Southern West Virginia, and almost two weeks after the Corps took a similar action suspending the authorization in the Norfolk District of Virginia.
This is the fifth federal permit to be vacated or suspended this year. In addition to the three Army Corps permits, the US Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management authorizations were vacated and remanded by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals July 27, 2018.
Maury Johnson, Executive Committee Member for the POWHR Coalition
“MVP is now missing five key permits to construct their pipeline. Though FERC’s certificate is conditioned on the company holding valid state and federal permits, the Commission has not issued a stop work order, nor has it suspended or revoked its own certificate in light of these missing permits.
“As a result, destruction continues leading up to and impacting streams and wetlands. Sediment continues to flow from construction sites into streams, and Waters of the US continue to be impacted as construction continues. The only way to adhere to the intent of the Fourth Circuit ruling from October 2 is to stop ALL work on the route.”
Howdy Henritz, Indian Creek Watershed Association President:
“This is welcome news, but the FERC must now issue a Stop Work Order for all MVP construction activities along its entire route. Despite crossing restrictions already in place in southern West Virginia and Virginia, streams and wetlands are already being damaged by upland construction. MVP and its contractors are pursuing an aggressive construction pace that has exposed and trenched miles of denuded corridors on steep slopes with woefully inadequate erosion and sediment controls.
“Citizen monitors in West Virginia and Virginia have sent more than 500 reports of violations to state environmental regulatory agencies—the WVDEP and VADEQ—but environmental enforcement has been a hollow promise. Even while the Army Corps has not allowed MVP to construct in the waterways in our region, relentless and reckless construction is spewing sediment-laden water into our streams and wetlands. FERC needs to call a halt now.”
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About the POWHR Coalition:
Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) is an interstate coalition representing individuals and groups from counties in Virginia and West Virginia dedicated to protecting the water, local ecology, heritage, land rights, human rights of individuals, communities and regions from harms caused by the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure. For more information, visit: powhr.org
About Indian Creek Watershed Association:
Indian Creek Watershed Association is a non-profit community-based organization in West Virginia whose mission is to preserve and protect Monroe County’s abundant, pure water. For more information, contact: IndianCreekWater@gmail.com
Related Documents
Army Corps Letter Suspending Authorization of NWP12 for MVP in Pittsburgh District
POWHR Coalition Demand for FERC to Stop Work, Filed 10/21/2018