Update: Easement and Eminent Domain Meeting in Franklin County May 18, 6:00 PM
Crossroads Community Church
565 Bonbrook Mill Rd
Rocky Mount, VA 24151
Don’t Sign — Know Your Rights
Mountain Valley Pipeline continues to pressure landowners to sell easements. YOU NEED TO BE AWARE OF YOUR RIGHTS. You’ll hear from experts on property rights, including an out-of-state attorney who is a recognized expert in eminent domain law and pipeline easements. Join us to learn more about protecting your property rights in the battle to stop the MVP! (Click for PDF of Meeting Info!)
Earthquake in Giles County, Virginia
A 2.8-magnitude earthquake shook western Giles County, roughly seven miles from the New River early Friday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey. Read more at Appalachian Magazine.
Chatterjee, Powelson to FERC?
Via Natural Resources Defense Council
Interview with Former Commissioner Tony Clark on FERC Nominees, Quorum (Video)
Ridge Removal Included in Pipeline Plans
“RICHMOND, VA — A briefing paper released today details how Dominion Resources intends to blast away, excavate, and partially remove entire mountaintops along 38 miles of Appalachian ridgelines as part of the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Engineering and policy experts have examined documents submitted by Dominion to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and, using GIS mapping software, found that Dominion would require mountaintops to be “reduced” by 10 to 60 feet along the proposed route of the pipeline. For perspective, the height equivalent of a five-story building would be erased in places from fully forested and ancient mountains.
Dominion has submitted a proposal to FERC to build a 42-inch diameter pipeline that would transport natural gas from West Virginia into Virginia and North Carolina. Dominion has attempted to paint the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as an ‘environmentally-friendly’ project. However, its proposed construction method and route selection across and along steep mountains is unprecedented for the region—if not the country—and is viewed as extreme and radical by landowners, conservationists, and engineers. Similar impacts – although not yet fully inventoried – could come from the construction of a second pipeline to the south: the Mountain Valley Pipeline led by the company EQT Midstream Partners, LP.” (Read more from CCAN)
Survey Law Arguments Heard at Virginia Supreme Court
“Foes of the law and the pipelines contend that the survey statute violates constitutional protections of private property and fails to clearly spell out how landowners should be informed about when surveyors will be on their property.” (Roanoke Times)
“The 2004 state survey law has been challenged in state courts in more than a dozen jurisdictions that would be crossed by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline or the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline in western Virginia, but the two appeals offered the high court a first look at the statute.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Virginia DEQ to Require Water Quality Certification for Pipeline Projects with Public Comments/Hearings
“The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality reported Thursday that it will require the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline project to provide details about individual crossings of streams and wetlands to demonstrate that the crossings will comply with state water quality standards.” (Roanoke Times)
“The decision will require extensive review of hundreds of affected waterways, potentially delaying the construction of the two proposed multibillion-dollar projects.” (Richmond Times-Dispatch)
Mountain Valley Pipeline Final Environmental Impact Statement Delayed Until June
“Pipeline opponents described the delayed release as a potentially positive development.
Laurie Ardison resides in Monroe County, West Virginia, one of the counties that would be on the pipeline route. She is active in Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR), an anti-pipeline coalition.
Ardison said the delay is both appropriate and necessary because FERC has failed to adequately review the information that has been submitted by Mountain Valley Pipeline and others.
‘What scientific research and reports have made clear is that MVP is attempting to construct a pipeline for which no need exists, through multiple areas of unbuildable terrain,’ Ardison said.” (Roanoke Times)
West Virginia DEQ Issues Water Certification
“West Virginia environmental authorities have issued a water quality certification for the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would carry natural gas down the center of West Virginia for 195 miles.”
More at West Virginia Public Broadcasting
FERC Files 24 Page Request For More Information From MVP
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has filed yet another request for additional information from Mountain Valley Pipeline, seeking detailed responses within 10 days of a March 20, 2017 letter. Requested information includes project specific topics on Water Resources, Wetlands, Fisheries, Wildlife, Vegetation, Endangered Species, and Cultural Resources.
PDF version of the FERC request can be accessed at the link below.