Delayed ACP & MVP are huge 42 inch pipelines still under construction in extremely steep terrain
NEWS RELEASE FROM PRESERVE MONROE ABOUT COVID-19
Concerned citizens implore Governor to halt imminent influx of transient workers into West Virginia
Last Friday, March 27, 2020, in light of the national COVID-19 pandemic, a local non-profit organization, Preserve Monroe, sent a letter to Governor Justice asking him to address an extremely important issue facing Monroe County and many other areas of rural WV: the imminent arrival of out-of-state pipeline construction crews.
The letter implores the Governor to please enact a ‘stay’ on the arrival of these transient pipeline construction crews to prevent them from entering WV during this health emergency.
It references the ‘fiduciary responsibility‘ of elected officials to take all possible measures to protect the health and the welfare delfare of their constituents, and asks the Governor to take appropriate action.
The letter points to the fact that unless local, state and /or federal officials act promptly, as early as April 1st, residents of Monroe County and other counties in WV face an influx of hundreds* of out-of-state workers who, as potential carriers of the corona virus, will place vulnerable populations** at even greater risk of COVID-19 infection. This influx would also put pipeline workers themselves at risk as they usually stay grouped on campgrounds or in overcrowded hotels, rental apartments and houses.
The letter cites statistics which show that their transient ‘way of life’ brings with it an increase in STD’s and other communicable diseases which require on site medical attention from local health providers. It also points to the fact that the living and working conditions transient workers experience makes strict adherence to intricate COVID-19 protection protocols, nearly impossible. The letter refers to these conditions as “a recipe for disaster in rural communities whose health services are already stretched way too thin.”
As one of the co-authors of the letter stated, “In the absence of a vaccine, we now know that the only truly effective measure is isolation. The presence of transient workers, therefore, not only puts workers themselves and local populations at greater risk of infection from COVID-19 but would also expose the entire state to the now well-documented ‘exponential spread’ of the virus.”
The following bullet points were included in the letter that was sent to the Governor.
ISOLATION: At this time, the only known remedy for COVID-19 is isolation.
INFLUX OF TRANSIENTS: Residents of rural areas need to get gas, stop at convenience stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, health centers, etc where they would be exposed to higher levels of air-borne viral and surface contamination from an influx of transient workers.
LEARNING CURVE: Many people, not only the elderly are confused by new ways of doing things and have difficulty learning by rote all the new steps required for maximum outdoor protection.
OUT OF STOCK: Precautionary measures require masks and the use of efficient hand and surface cleaners which are often out of stock or in very short supply.
HEALTH CENTERS LIMITED CAPACITY: In the face of severe pandemic, the capacity of existing medical facilities in WV is particularly limited. Statistics indicate that states with greater capacity have lower percentages of death rates. Our limited number of local health care centers are hardly equipped to handle a local epidemic of COVID-19 not to mention additional cases presented by an influx of hundreds of transient workers.
LIMITED SUPPLIES: There is currently a shortage of COVID-19 testing kits as well as life-saving ventilators and important PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) in WV..
TRULY NEEDED CRITICAL INFRA-STRUCTURE: The truly critical infra-structure most needed in WV right now is medical infra-structure. We have enough coal, oil, gas and renewables to supply existing domestic and industrial energy needs. Pipeline construction crews can be profitably repurposed toward building, rehabilitating and repairing medical and sanitary infrastructure in their home areas.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED: All initiatives must be taken now to ‘flatten the curve’ and prevent spikes that would saturate existing medical capacity and cause more deaths. At this stage, it is absolutely imperative to eradicate all known conditions that contribute to ‘exponential spread’ of COVID 19. We cannot allow an influx of transient workers to ruin our chances to ‘flatten the curve’ and to expose the entire state to having to decide who lives and who dies.
The letter closes with a salutation to the Governor and a cautionary citation of the old proverb ‘Better safe than sorry’ which, it states, “has never been more critically apropos than it is now”.
* Link to FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement) submitted by MVP to FERC: FEIS for the Mountain Valley Project and Equitrans Expansion Project (CP16-10-000 and CP16-13-000)
** National and state officials recognize that rural populations are already at heightened risk for severe consequences from this virus due to large percentages of elderly inhabitants and less economically affluent citizens. Rural areas are known to experience generally poorer health including obesity, heart and respiratory conditions, etc.
>>> A Copy of this letter will appear on the FERC Dockets for the MVP, the ACP, and The Greene Inter-Connect project which is in Monroe County.
Point Your RSS Reader to FrackCheckWV.net/feed/
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
PRESERVE MONROE — Monroe County, WV — March 27, 2020
Dear Governor Justice,
In light of the COVID-19 national pandemic, we would like to address an extremely important issue facing Monroe County, as well as many other areas of rural WV: the imminent arrival of out-of-state pipeline construction crews.
Unless local, state and /or federal officials act promptly, as early as April 1st, we face an influx of hundreds* of out-of-state workers who, as potential carriers of the corona virus, will place our vulnerable populations** at even greater risk. It will also put pipeline workers themselves at risk as they usually stay grouped on campgrounds or in overcrowded hotels, rental apartments and houses.
Statistics have already shown that the ‘way of life’ of transient workers brings with it an increase in STD’s and other communicable diseases which require on site medical attention from local health providers. The living and working conditions transients experience makes adherence to intricate COVID-19 protection protocols nearly impossible. This is a recipe for disaster for rural communities whose health services are already stretched way too thin.
As we now know, in the absence of a vaccine, the only truly effective measure is isolation. The presence of transient workers, therefore, not only puts workers themselves and local populations at greater risk of infection from COVID-19 but would also expose the entire state to the now well-documented ‘exponential spread’ of the virus.
• ISOLATION: At this time, the only known remedy for COVID-19 is isolation.
• INFLUX OF TRANSIENTS: Residents of rural areas need get gas, stop at convenience stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, health centers, etc where they would be exposed to higher levels of air-borne viral and surface contamination from an influx of transient workers.
• LEARNING CURVE: Many people, especially the elderly are confused by new ways of doing things and naturally have more difficulty learning by rote all the new steps required for maximum outdoor protection.
• OUT OF STOCK: Precautionary measures require masks and the use of efficient hand and surface cleaners which are often out of stock or in very short supply.
• HEALTH CENTERS LIMITED CAPACITY: In the face of severe pandemic, the capacity of existing medical facilities in WV is particularly limited. Statistics indicate that states with greater capacity have lower percentages of death rates. Our limited number of local health care centers are hardly equipped to handle a local epidemic of COVID-19, not to mention additional cases presented by an influx of hundreds of transient workers.
• LIMITED MEDICAL SUPPLIES: There is currently a shortage of COVID-19 testing kits in WV, as well as life-saving ventilators and important PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).
• TRULY NEEDED CRITICAL INFRA-STRUCTURE: The critical infra-structure most needed right now in WV is medical infra-structure. We have enough coal, oil, gas and renewables to supply existing domestic and industrial energy needs. Pipeline construction crews can be profitably repurposed toward building, rehabilitating and repairing medical and sanitary infrastructure in their areas.
• IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED: All initiatives must be taken now to ‘flatten the curve’ and prevent spikes that would saturate existing medical capacity and cause more deaths.
At this stage, it is absolutely imperative to eradicate all known conditions that contribute to ‘exponential spread’ of COVID-19. We cannot allow an influx of transient workers to ruin our chances to ‘flatten the curve’ and to expose the entire state to having to decide who lives and who dies.
We therefore implore you to please enact a ‘stay’ on transient worker pipeline infra-structure construction crews to prevent them from entering WV.
In light of the ‘fiduciary responsibility’ of elected officials to take all possible measures to protect the health and welfare of their constituents, we hope you will seriously consider the points we have made and take appropriate action. The old adage ‘Better safe than sorry’ has never been more critically apropos than it is now.
THANK YOU for your attention! Preserve Monroe,
Board of Directors: Joe Chasnoff, Maury Johnson, Robin Wright
* Link to FEIS (Final Environmental Impact Statement) submittted by MVP to FERC: https://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/eis/2017/06-23-17-FEIS.asp
** National and state officials recognize that our rural populations are already at heightened risk for severe consequences from this virus due to large percentages of elderly inhabitants and less economically affluent citizens. Rural areas are known to experience generally poorer health including obesity, heart and respiratory conditions, etc.
Preserve Monroe, P.O. Box 76, Union, West Virginia, 24983
VIRGINIA coal mines closing due to COVID-19 concerns —
Hundreds of employees will be affected
Article by Sydney Lake, Virginia Business, March 30, 2020
Five Virginia coal mines announced Monday they they shutting down operations to stop the spread of coronavirus, but continuing to fulfill weekly orders from current stockpiles.
The Buchanan Mine No.1, which employs 543 workers in Southwest Virginia, has closed as of Monday, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy spokesperson Tarah Kesterson says. The mine is owned by Coronado Coal.
Employees who are working on the longwall section of the mine will continue work this week, but after that only salaried staff will stay to maintain the mine, Kesterson says. The mine has 750,000 tons of coal at its preparation plant and a small crew will load the coal on a weekly basis onto trains to fulfill orders, according to Buchanan #1.
INMET Mining LLC — which includes the Osaka, Pigeon Creek, North Fork and D-31 mines — also announced Monday morning it would close due to concerns surrounding COVID-19. Osaka employs 60 people, Pigeon Creek employs 13, North Fork employs 8 and D-31 employs 15. They, too will keep a few people on site to maintain the mine during the closure, Kesterson says.
The Polycor quarry, which does not produce coal, reported its closure on Monday to the DMME as well.
Consol outlines details on Bailey Mine closure
Article by Rick Schrum, Washington Observer Reporter, March 31, 2020
Consol Energy Inc. released more information Monday about the closure of Bailey Mine for 14 days, after finding out that two employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Both workers are in self-isolation for 14 days.
The Southpoine-based company said in a news release it found out Wednesday that an employee tested positive and went into self-quarantine. That evening, Consol reported that it notified individuals identified as having had close, prolonged contact with that employee about the positive test, and advised them to self-isolate for 14 days and speak with a health care professional.
Then on Friday, Consol said it found out that one of those individuals likewise had tested positive and went into self-isolation as well. Consol told employees at Bailey Bailey that evening about the temporary closure.
Bailey is part of the Pennsylvania Mining Complex, the largest underground coal mine complex in North America, which includes the Enlow Fork and Harvey mines. The company did not close the other mines or the nearby prep plant.
About two-thirds of the complex is located in Washington and Greene counties, the rest in Marshall County, W.Va.
Consol said in a statement Monday: “Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to temporarily curtail production at the Bailey Mine. We will perform a precautionary deep cleaning of the facilities while attempting to determine if any other employees were at risk from exposure. We will continue to monitor the issue closely. … (The other mines and the prep plant) will continue operations to ensure a stable energy and electricity supply.”
https://observer-reporter.com/business/marcellusshale/consol-outlines-details-on-bailey-mine-closure/article_11d30c30-7294-11ea-89f9-337df144f54f.html