The permit issued to the Mountain Valley Pipeline by the Army Corps is commonly known as a “nationwide” permit, which takes a one-size-fits-all approach that can only be used when a state has done the necessary water quality analysis. Since West Virginia waived its right to do that analysis, the Army Corps can not legally issue the section 404 permit for construction of the pipeline in West Virginia.

If successful, this suit will require the Army Corps or the state of West Virginia to do another water quality impact review before the pipeline can be built through that state.

The suit was filed by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of a coalition made up of the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Indian Creek Watershed Association, West Virginia Rivers Coalition and Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

In response, West Virginia Rivers Coalition Executive Director, Angie Rosser release the following statement:

“The combination of WVDEP’s waived water quality analysis and the Army Corps’ cookie-cutter approach just doesn’t cut it for a project of this scale. This illegal move greatens the risk to West Virginia’s rivers and streams and must be addressed before any construction begins.”

Bill Price, Sierra Club Organizing Manager, said:

“The Army Corps of Engineers has a responsibility to protect the people and places we love and their one-size-fits-all approach to this project falls far short of fulfilling that responsibility. The fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline is a dirty, dangerous project that threatens our water, climate and communities and it shouldn’t be built until the Army Corps has done a serious analysis of how badly it would affect the water of Virginia and West Virginia at all river and stream crossings.”

Anne Havemann, General Counsel for the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said:

“The federal and state governments have fallen short when it comes to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The Army Corps’ blanket permit does not come close to covering the scale and scope of this massive pipeline project. We are asking the court to make the Army Corps take seriously its responsibility to protect our waters.”

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About West Virginia Rivers Coalition

West Virginia Rivers Coalition is a statewide non-profit organization promoting the conservation and restoration of West Virginia’s exceptional rivers and streams. Since 1989, it has served as the statewide voice for clean, healthy waters for all to use and enjoy. For more information, visit wvrivers.org.

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

About Chesapeake Climate Action Network

The missions of the Chesapeake Climate Action Network is to build a diverse movement powerful enough to put our region on the path to climate stability. We envision an equitable energy future where truly clean sources of power sustain every aspect of our lives, and dirty fossil fuels are phased out; where communities now sacrificed to the fossil fuel industry have won the freedom to decide where their energy comes from and how it’s used. For more information, visit, chesapeakeclimate.org.