Wetzel County, WV, to Pittsylvania County, VA, the MVP length is 303 miles (click)
From Letter to the Editor by Katie Whitehead, Danville Register & Bee, March 10, 2022
Mountain Valley Pipeline continues to mislead the public about the status of its 303-mile mainline project by pointing to miles of felled trees and pipe strung from northwestern West Virginia into Pittsylvania County. Reporters routinely repeat MVP’s oversimplified contention that the “total project work is nearly 94% complete.”
Miles don’t measure the difficulty of installing the “20 linear miles of pipe remaining.” Those 20 miles include steep slopes, karst terrain with sink holes and caves, more than 600 rivers and streams and endangered species. MVP has only completed 15% of the total water crossings.
Miles don’t measure cost. The MVP mainline is billions over budget and years behind schedule.
Miles don’t measure compliance with legal requirements. The U.S. Appeals Court for the 4th Circuit recently rejected, for a second time, MVP’s permit to cross the Jefferson National Forest and MVP’s authorization under the Endangered Species Act.
Miles don’t measure time. Without needed permits, MVP cannot finish the pipeline before its Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate expires in October. FERC has already granted one extension and will not extend certification indefinitely.
Miles don’t measure value and risk. In recent financial statements, MVP joint venture partners lowered the value of their investment in the mainline project. Equitrans Midstream Corp. announced a $1.9 billion impairment. AltaGas announced a $211 million impairment. NextEra Energy Inc. announced a $800 million impairment — and acknowledged “a very low probability of pipeline completion.”
Miles don’t measure probability. Without mentioning miles of pipe, NextEra has succinctly assessed the status of the MVP mainline: completion is highly unlikely.
NOTE ~ This letter by Katie Whitehead of Chatham, VA, also appeared in the Chatham Star-Tribune on March 8, 2022.
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See Also: Appalachian Forest Blockades Disrupt Mountain Valley Pipeline, Unicorn Riot, April 23, 2018
Giles County, VA – On the border between Virginia and West Virginia, on Peter’s Mountain, a fight has begun regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a joint venture of several companies led by EQT Midstream Partners. While the pipeline is advertised as on track to be completed in 2018, it faces several dramatic delays; as of this writing, at least eight different tree-sits or other blockades currently obstruct the pipeline’s route on both public and private land.
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Canadian pipeline groups spend big to pose as Indigenous champions | Environment | Alice McCool, The Guardian, March 10, 2022
Coastal GasLink is one of three multibillion-dollar pipelines facing opposition by some Indigenous and environmental groups in Canada. The construction of the 670km pipeline through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory – land never signed away to the Canadian government – has sparked nationwide protests in recent years. The pipeline has also exacerbated complex divisions within the Wet’suwet’en First Nation, some of whom favor the economic opportunities promised by the project.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/mar/10/canadian-pipeline-groups-spend-big-to-pose-as-indigenous-champions
Manchin Lying about Mountain Valley Pipeline, Appalachian Chronicle, March 12, 2022
“Residents in its path know the true story” reports Paula Mann.
GREENVILLE, W.Va. – Recently, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin met with the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee (FERC) to discuss recent changes to regulations on pipeline construction, as the Bluefield Daily Telegraph reported. During the hearing and in the article, he spouted false claims that the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is 95 percent complete, suggesting its completion is inevitable.
I live on the pipeline’s path and I can tell you with certainty that this is not true. Due to legal, financial, and political pressure, the project is only 55 percent complete, according to FERC.
Joe Manchin says we must ramp up natural gas production for the sake of our country’s energy reliability and security. This is completely false. Only a rapid transition to clean energy will secure our energy independence. The climate crisis presents a massive threat to our country’s security – as the Department of Defense has asserted.
Joe Manchin claims the completion of the MVP is for the good of our country. This is impossible because the MVP has negatively impacted rural communities like mine. People have lost vital water sources, both springs and wells, and their roads, fences and topsoil are being washed away from increased flooding along the pipeline route.
Some of the poorest and oldest residents in the state live along the route. That’s no coincidence. MVP targeted our rural communities because they thought we were easy targets. I can assure you, we are not. We have fought this pipeline tirelessly for seven years, and recent court decisions signal that we are winning.
Joe Manchin stated that there were no pipelines to get the Marcellus Shale gas out of north central WV. This statement is also false. The WB Xpress and Mountaineer Xpress are two newly constructed pipelines to move gas out to the East and the West. The Mountain Valley Pipeline isn’t needed.
Join me in encouraging our leaders to stop spreading lies about the pipeline and its impact on our communities. Instead, we need Sen. Manchin to lift up West Virginia communities by leading the transition to renewable energy to provide energy security, and center the health of our communities and people in that transition.