Happy Creek not only Virginia natural environment under threat – Del. Rasoul challenges federal and state authorities on Mountain Valley Pipeline review

Following a ruling in the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday, November 18, Roanoke area 11th District State Delegate Sam Rasoul issued a detailed statement on continued opposition to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The Richmond-based Federal Appeals Court covers multiple jurisdictions in five states: Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, North and South Carolina. The Wednesday ruling declined to issue a stay on the Virginia-West Virginia project while considering a challenge brought by an environmental coalition – sound familiar? – No “Stop Work Order” there either. With 15 authorized judgeships, the U.S. Fourth District Appeals Court is considered mid-sized among 13 federal appeals courts nationwide.

“Yesterday, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals declined to issue a stay pending appeal while it considered a challenge brought by environmental groups to the Mountain Valley Pipeline,” Rasoul who is running for Lt. Governor began, observing that, “The case involves a permit, known as a Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement, issued by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The court has yet to consider the full merits of the case, and when it does so, I am confident the court will do what it has done in many other cases and throw out these permits, which were hastily issued in the waning days of the current federal administration.

Lt. Governor candidate Sam Rasoul urges vigilance in battle against environmental threats posed by Mountain Valley Pipeline. Courtesy Photo Office of Del. Rasoul by Naila Rahman

“While the court’s decision is a disappointing temporary setback, the fact remains that the same court already has stayed another permit, known as Nationwide Permit 12, which MVP needs to cross hundreds of rivers, streams, and wetlands along the 303-mile route in West Virginia and Virginia. And MVP still lacks a permit to cross the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia as well as a 25-mile buffer zone over which construction is still barred by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Without those permits, the project will never be completed.”

According to the project website, the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a natural gas pipeline system that spans approximately 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.

As an interstate pipeline, it will be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) referenced in Rasoul’s statement. But environmentalists are concerned that such federal regulatory oversight after four years of current Executive Branch appointments, perhaps like Tree Steward and Urban Forestry Advisory Board-led environmental consulting oversight here under Republican-dominated municipal management, has been crippled from its intended regulatory mission.

A project map from the MVP website with stats on trees felled, ROW cleared, ROW graded – sound familiar, if on a grander scale than Happy Creek’s bank?

The MVP will be constructed and owned by Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, which is a joint venture of EQM Midstream Partners, LP; NextEra Capital Holdings, Inc.; Con Edison Transmission, Inc.; WGL Midstream; and RGC Midstream, LLC, the project website notes, adding that “EQM Midstream Partners will operate the pipeline and own a significant interest in the joint venture.”
Currently, according to the MVP website, the pipeline will be 42 inches in diameter and will require approximately 50 feet of permanent easement – with 125 feet of temporary easement during construction. Three compressor stations, with identified locations in Wetzel, Braxton, and Fayette Counties of West Virginia will also be required.

The pipeline will be governed by the United States Natural Gas Act, which requires a Certificate of Convenience and Necessity (Certificate) from FERC. Mountain Valley received this Certificate on October 13, 2017, and construction began in early 2018. As of June 2020, MVP’s total project work was approximately 92% complete.

However, State Delegate Rasoul believes the project is far from a done deal.

MVP website graphic panorama of the Blue Ridge Mountains – why not lay a little natural gas pipeline through there?

“Mountain Valley Pipeline is the most expensive pipeline on a per-mile basis ever conceived. Billions over budget and years behind schedule, MVP should never have been proposed and should never have been approved by federal regulators and responsible agencies in the Commonwealth of Virginia. And building this pipeline using thousands of out-of-state workers in Southwest Virginia during an escalating public health emergency is creating an unnecessary and dangerous risk to the communities along the proposed route and beyond.

“What is required now is decisive action by Virginia and the incoming Biden Administration to end this corporate boondoggle once and for all. I call for the following actions to be taken immediately:

“1/The incoming Biden Administration should initiate an expedited review of all permits issued to MVP and pull the existing permits pending such review as soon as it takes office.

“2/ Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality and the State Water Control Board should initiate the process of revoking certifications previously issued to MVP under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

“3/ I challenge my fellow elected officials at the state and local levels to join the fight to protect impacted communities along the route of the MVP and to speak out on this important fight for environmental justice,” Rasoul concluded.