Doug Jackson, 202.495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org
PITTSBURGH -- Today, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (MVP) announced plans for the Southgate pipeline project that would extend the fracked gas pipeline into North Carolina. The MVP’s proposed route through West Virginia and Virginia has already been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, but MVP does not yet have approval for the Southgate project, which would bring more unnecessary, dangerous fracked gas into North Carolina.
Developers are claiming that North Carolina needs more fracked gas to meet customers’ needs, despite wide-ranging evidence showing electricity demand is flat. Utilities and pipeline builders justify their projects by creating the illusion of demand - making customers foot the bill while they rake in profits.
Fracked gas is primarily composed of methane, which, over its first 20 years in the atmosphere, is 87 times more potent for trapping heat than carbon dioxide -- exacerbating climate change.
In addition to the consequences for our climate, there are serious public health and environmental justice concerns around these pipelines. The infrastructure associated with these projects leaks gas, pollutes waterways, and is often sited in low-income areas and communities of color. They have also been known to explode, causing injuries and deaths.
Currently, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) is also proposed to take gas from the Marcellus Shale through West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina.
In response, Joan Walker, Senior Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club’s Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign, released the following statement:
"These fracked gas pipelines are dangerous and not necessary for meeting our state’s energy needs. They pollute our air and water, and serve no purpose other than lining the pockets of the polluting corporations that run these dirty projects through our most vulnerable communities. Rather than relying on polluting fossil fuel relics of the past, North Carolinians should be able to get power from the ready and abundant clean, renewable energy sources.”
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.