Special Groundhogs Day Webinar on MVP Permits – 12:00PM, Feb. 2
Two permits from federal agencies are pending approval and you have the opportunity to comment on them. This February 2nd webinar discussed how you can craft and submit your comments.
You can comment on the US Forest Service permit approval until February 21 through this webform.
You can comment on the Army Corp of Engineers permit until February 10, through this webform.
Two Important Opportunities to Comment on the MVP
The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is 5 years behind schedule, billions of dollars over budget, and only about 50% of the project has achieved final restoration. However, the companies behind this boondoggle continue to try to push the project forward. There are two permits with pending approvals from federal agencies that you can weigh in on this month. Make sure you watch our Groundhogs Day webinar for a conversation on each permit.
Permit: US Forest Service
After the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated MVP’s approval to cross 3.5 miles of the Jefferson National Forest and the Appalachian Trail in Monroe County, WV and Giles County, VA, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) released a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS). Our public lands and the streams within them are managed and protected with a forest plan. The SEIS outlines 11 changes to the plan in an attempt to allow MVP to cross these sensitive areas.
The public has until February 21 to comment.
Permit: US Army Corps of Engineers
For years, the Mountain Valley Pipeline has struggled to obtain their stream crossing permit from the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). First, they tried to use a basic, general permit that was not sufficient for their large-scale project. When that didn’t work, they tried to change the conditions of the general permit. That also got them into trouble, so last year they finally relented and applied for an individual permit from USACE. However, the information they supplied for that permit application was insufficient to meet the permit requirements.
Now, MVP has finally supplied the necessary information. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) released for public comment MVP’s proposed monitoring and restoration plans for streams and wetlands impacted by construction. However, it should come as no surprise, given their track record, that MVP’s Comprehensive Stream and Wetland Monitoring, Restoration, and Mitigation Framework is woefully insufficient.
Comment by February 10.
WV Rivers Increases Staffing to Support Advocates Fighting the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Tyler Cannon has been contracted by WV Rivers to support our work around Mountain Valley Pipeline. Tyler is a tree-care professional, horticulturist, and environmental and social justice advocate currently residing in Lewisburg, West Virginia.
He has spent most of the last decade working for environmental and social justice in the state and regionally. While new to the long fight to defeat the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Tyler is eager to lend his background in popular education, participatory action research, and organizing to support advocates and impacted landowners in opposing the destructive project.
