Mountain Valley Watch
We Protect Us
Throughout the near-decade-long struggle to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline, we have learned that if we want to keep our communities safe, we must take action.
The Mountain Valley Watch project is a team of volunteers along the MVP route who monitor construction of the pipeline and report environmental issues to regulatory agencies. The MVWatch team provides critical documentation of environmental compliance to overseeing governmental bodies like the departments of environmental quality in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This effort contributes to improved government transparency and impact.
Together, we will protect our home.
A map of the waterways surrounding the Mountain Valley Pipeline route.
The MVWatch team performs aerial and field monitoring for water contamination, slope failure, soil erosion, stream channel damage, and harm to proseries near the route in order to ensure compliance with environmental regulations.
Volunteer Spotlight
"This is my home. Mountain Valley Watch has given me the tools to protect what I love in the face of fossil fuel destruction and climate catastrophe."
-Mariah Clay
To get involved, reach out to POWHR’s Mountain Valley Watch Coordinator Seferina Olivo (seferina@powhr.org).
Two community members sitting by a river in southwest Virginia.
The MVWatch team consists of communiment members, scientists, engineers, allied environmental groups, and local high school and college students.
Our work consists of:
Management of aerial and field observation information
GIS Mapping of critical areas and violations
Water quality/stream monitoring data collection
Airplane and drone surveillance
Review of observations for environmental violations
System for reporting observations and protocol for reporting and follow-up by citizens and landowners
While our primary goal is to monitor the MVP route, we also aim to support local renewable energy projects and support neighbor communities facing environmental injustice.
As the climate crisis intensifies and the environmental justice crisis continues, we believe these monitoring skills are critical for community members to keep each other safe.
Resources (formatted in a clickable way - not as a bulleted list):
Catalog of past reports (under reports tab of MVW site)