Several training sessions for volunteers to monitor water quality impacts for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Mountain Valley Pipeline have been announced.

April 26, 7:00 PM. Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, 701 Church Street SE, Blacksburg – Montgomery County, VA observer training session and information meeting. Trainers are Kirk Bowers, PE and Jason Shelton, New River Geographics, LLC. For more information, click here or call: 833-MVWATCH.

May 5, 9:30 am to 4 pm, McClintic Library, Marlinton, WV – Trout Unlimited and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition are partnering to train volunteers to monitor coldwater resources that have the potential to be impacted by natural gas pipeline development. The goal of this workshop is to train volunteers to effectively monitor water quality on high priority streams along proposed pipeline routes before, during and after potential pipeline construction. For registration and details, click here.

May 5, 4 to 5:30 pm, McClintic Library, Marlinton, WV – Volunteer Pipeline Visual Assessment Program. Gathering for local persons willing to be volunteer citizen observers who can identify, document and report pollution incidents associated with large-scale pipeline development. We ask all attendees to view the 90 minute online webinar, which can be accessed at http://wvrivers.org/our-programs/water-monitoring/pipelinevisualassessment/.

May 5, 9 to 4:30 pm, 2193 Hanky Mountain Hwy, Churchville, VA – Virginia Save Our Streams (VASOS) workshop for those who want to become certified VASOS monitors. Sponsored by the Izaak Walton League in cooperation with Trout Unlimited and ABRA’s Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative. For registration and details, click here.

May 12, 10 am to 4 pm, Union Grove Baptist Church, Buckingham, VA – Appalachian Voices has partnered with Trout Unlimited and West Virginia Rivers Coalition to organize this training session. For registration and details, click here.

Pipeline Monitoring Training Sessions Planned

ABRA CONSERVATION HUB

ABRA’s Conservation Hub program promotes responsible resource management by providing access to critical information needed for effective public involvement in environmental review and oversight.

Following the defeat of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline in 2020, ABRA initiated the Conservation Hub to support informed public engagement with the broader range of environmental issues confronting the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Mountain region. The Conservation Hub builds on the analysis and information sharing capacity achieved through ABRA’s Pipeline CSI project during the years of ACP opposition.

The Conservation Hub is based on the use of GIS mapping to provide details and context for land development projects and management practices that involve risk of environmental harm, as well as for environmental preservation and restoration initiatives. The Conservation Hub also provides access to regulatory documents and assessments related to specific projects or issues.

Multiple Conservation Hub sites, focused on individual projects or issues, have been developed collaboratively with ABRA’s partners and allies. Going forward, we invite conservation groups, individuals, and communities to provide ideas for new Hub sites and GIS mapping that can contribute to informed public engagement on behalf of environmental integrity in the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region.