Virginians Submit Over 3,000 Comments Against Free Passes for Fracked Gas Pipelines

RICHMOND, VA -- As of today, Virginia residents have submitted more than 3,000 comments to their Water Control Board demanding that all work on the fracked gas Atlantic Coast (ACP) and Mountain Valley pipelines (MVP) pursuant to Nationwide Permit 12 be halted while the state undertakes detailed, individualized review of stream and wetland crossings.

Analyzing the crossings’ impacts would allow the state to require additional water quality protections where needed. The Nationwide Permit 12 is considered to be a “one-size-fits-all” permit and Virginians say it never should have been granted to projects as long and complicated as the MVP and ACP. At over 300 and 600 miles, respectively, the two projects would cross over 1,000 rivers, streams, and wetlands in Virginia.

These pipelines would traverse rugged mountain terrain and sensitive habitats, and will be near drinking water sources for Staunton, Waynesboro, Roanoke, Salem, and Vinton counties. A simple rainstorm has already caused a mudslide that blocked a road in Virginia, and the MVP has drawn three citations from the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

In response, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Director Kate Addleson released the following statement:

"The Nationwide Permit 12 one-size-fits-all approach is supposed to be used only for proposals with minimal impacts, not for behemoths like the MVP and ACP, which are each hundreds of miles long. That’s why Virginians have submitted more than 3,000 comments demanding the state conduct individual reviews of these stream and wetland crossings, rather than rely on a blanket permit. They know that using this inadequate permit to try to protect Virginia’s waters from the MVP and ACP is like trying to put ten pounds of manure in a five pound sack. Virginians, like everyone, deserve to have their water, their communities, and their public spaces protected from dirty and dangerous projects like fracked gas pipelines.”