Things have been fairly quiet over the last few weeks regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and breaking news, which is a big change from what we saw late August and September of this year. As we remain vigilant in planning and are taking this break to bolster our efforts for 2023, here are the top five MVP news stories over the last few months.

NEWS THAT FERC GRANTS MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE EXTENSION

On August 23, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order granting a four-year extension of time to complete the MVP. The Commission asserted in its Order that “. . . there has been no showing that the environmental effects of the project have changed materially since the Commission authorized the project.” However, Wild Virginia reviewed reports by the Virginia DEQ and contract inspectors that show over 600 instances where sediment was dumped onto lands outside the pipeline right of way, in Virginia alone. 

STEPS CITIZENS CAN TAKE TO HOLD ENVIRONMENTAL AGENCIES ACCOUNTABLE

On September 16, Wild Virginia released a webinar to help citizens understand government decision-making process and how to engage effectively in order to hold federal and state governments accountable for agency decisions. The process is complex, but citizens can participate in agency decision-making in the best interest for wildlife and clean water.

MANCHIN’S SIDE DEAL NEWS, A GIFT TO FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES AND MVP

On September 21, 2022, news hit the stands that Senator Joe Manchin released the text of a bill that would do grave harm to the people and natural resources of Virginia and West Virginia – and sided with the fossil fuels industry. A part of the bill would force completion of the MVP, even though the destructive project is contrary to our most cherished environmental laws and the values they represent.

MVP SWEETHEART DEAL PULLED FROM MUST-PASS SENATE BILL

On September 27, Senator Joe Manchin announced that he was asking that so-called “permitting reform” provisions be removed from the Continuing Resolution (CR), a budget bill that had to be passed to avoid a government shutdown. The proposals Manchin had offered were dangerous for the environment and disrespectful of the role members of the public should play in decisions that affect their lives and futures. 

Especially egregious was the attempt to force federal agencies to give final approvals for MVP, despite the project’s inability to comply with bedrock environmental laws – the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and others.

FUTURE OF PIPELINES AND NEPA

In late October, a federal appeals court ruling could have reset the rules for environmental reviews of major projects — and would determine the fate of a school in Virginia to educate Black children during the Jim Crow era.

The Army Corps of Engineers was deciding on a permit for a “mega landfill” to be constructed within 1,000 feet of the school in Cumberland County. The decision, weighing both cultural impacts and its adherence to a 2020 Trump-era rule that gutted requirements for NEPA, came to a head as Wild Virginia and other groups challenged the White House Council on Environmental Quality regulation before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.