Resources for Landowners

Since its inception, POWHR has partnered with the landowners along the route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

We acknowledge the history of Indigenous displacement and genocide and the enslavement of Africans and African Americans on the land and water we protect. Racial and socioeconomic injustices targeted at communities of color impact all of us, including specifically the low-income and elderly communities we serve. This history has led the fracked gas industry to believe they swoop in at the decline of coal and continue the destruction of our region for their corporate profit. 

The primarily low-income and elderly communities along the route are deeply familiar with the activity of the pipeline construction and can provide a key perspective to how it affects the surrounding area. 83% of Virginia and 84% of West Virginia land is owned by community members, leaving most of the Mountain Valley Pipeline routing through private property. This is a map of affected properties in Virginia and West Virginia.

An old saw cutting into a stump. The saw reads “cut down MVP”. Photo credit: Matthew Pickett

“The land we had purchased for homesites for our children now has a 42 inch natural gas pipeline under it or near it. The site and our existing home are in the incineration zone should there be a leak and explosion.”
– Becky Crabtree, West Virginia landowner

If you are a concerned landowner seeking more information about the current status of the pipeline, here are some resources:

• MVP’s latest consent agreement with the federal government

• The pipeline safety arm of the federal government’s resource hub