North Carolina DEQ Denies Critical Permit for MVP Southgate Project
August 11, 2020
Contact:
Russell Chisholm, POWHR Co-Chair, russell.powhr@gmail.com, (540) 404-2727
Maury Johnson, POWHR Executive Committee Member, maurywjohnson@yahoo.com, (304) 832-6085
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality announced today their denial of a permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Southgate project. The permit—a water quality certification under Clean Water Act Section 401—was needed for the project to proceed.
Roberta Bondurant, POWHR Coalition Co-Chair
“We applaud North Carolina DEQ for taking the necessary steps to protect the communities, water, and environment of their state from unneeded fracked gas projects. NCDEQ serves as an example of due diligence and highlights even further the failures of the Virginia DEQ in their decision to permit MVP’s mainline project and refusal to assess Southgate’s impacts. Virginia officials have improperly absolved themselves of their duty to protect communities and environments in the Commonwealth in favor of rolling over for the gas industry.
“We stand in solidarity with those who have been impacted by MVP Southgate’s activities thus far and congratulate them on their hard work in this fight, and we will continue our staunch opposition to the incomplete, unneeded, and dangerous MVP mainline project.”
Maury Johnson, POWHR Executive Committee Member and MVP Impacted Landowner in West Virginia
“Today the people of North Carolina received the protection from their government that the citizens of West Virginia and Virginia should have gotten from their government. Today the NCDEQ showed what real leadership is by denying the 401 Water Certification and therefore protected the state of NC from the ravages of the water pollution that we have witnessed in WV and VA along the MVP Mainline for the past 2.5 years. It is time that the entire, unnecessary MVP project(s) be canceled and NC, VA and WV move to a renewable energy future.”
Mary Beth Coffey, MVP Impacted Landowner in Virginia
“North Carolina made a wise decision to protect their communities today. We’ve seen firsthand the damage MVP can and will do to pristine waterways, and North Carolina is clearly putting the public safety and environmental protection over the profits of private corporations.”