The United States Forest Service has approved passage of the Mountain Valley Pipeline through Jefferson National Forest.
First proposed in 2014, the 304-mile pipeline spans from West Virginia into Virginia, with a possible 75-mile Southgate Extension into North Carolina. While proponents of the MVP argue that the natural gas pipeline is a “critical infrastructure project,” many environmental groups and communities along its pathway oppose the project. Since the MVP’s proposal alongside other projects, including the canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline, there has been lengthy debate over the construction, pathway, and necessity of the pipeline.
Although the MVP would not cut through Charlottesville, its impacts are potentially far-reaching. Several local climate protection groups have been fighting the pipeline’s completion, including environmental advocacy organization Appalachian Voices.
“When the project was originally analyzed, in terms of market need, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission—which is the federal agency that certifies gas pipelines—said it was justified because there was shipping contracts for the pipeline’s capacity,” says Appalachian Voices Virginia Field Coordinator Jessica Sims. “But the issue with that is that four of the five companies that MVP had contracted were shippers or corporate affiliates of the pipeline-sponsoring companies. So, they were essentially selling it to themselves, [which is] problematic.”
Beyond the shady approval process, Sims highlighted the MVP’s impact on communities and landscapes along its pathway.
“Depending on the circumstances of the location, its steepness, or its proximity to water resources, you’re running the risk of sedimentation from the construction efforts exiting the construction site and impacting what’s around it,” says Sims. “And so that’s what we’ve seen … with Mountain Valley Pipeline running through such steep slopes and through the mountains of Virginia into West Virginia, that the sedimentation issues have been horrific and have impacted water resources in both states.”
With the Biden administration’s approval of the Amendment to Forest Plan for Jefferson National Forest and right-of-way under the Mineral Leasing Act, the MVP is much closer to obtaining the authorizations it needs to be fully operational by the end of this summer. As of May 23, the MVP and proposed Southgate Extension still have to obtain permits from the Army Corps of Engineers, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
While those in favor of the pipeline’s construction view it as a vital energy resource, Sims argues there are cleaner alternatives that can be pursued. “We have the tools, we have the vision, we have the future already happening here in Virginia in terms of clean energy development,” she says. “It’s an opportunity for Virginia to truly invest in that transition, and to make sure that it is a just transition that has that type of energy available for everyone, and does not leave behind workers that have previously been in the fossil fuel industry, especially in the coal regions of Virginia.”
Despite the MVP’s recent wave of success in obtaining authorizations, Sims remains optimistic about blocking the pipeline’s completion. “I maintain that it will be stopped. We see at this moment, they’re missing both a federal and a state permit,” she says. “Those fighting Mountain Valley Pipeline are not going to stop fighting.”