The Southgate Project, a proposed extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) into North Carolina, has received a favorable environmental review by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The project, initiated in a filing with FERC in May 2018, would be a 75-mile natural gas transmission pipeline from Pittsylvania County, Virginia to Alamance County, North Carolina. It would include building a 29,000-horsepower compressor station in Pittsylvania County (by comparison, the Buckingham compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline would have nearly twice the horsepower as the Southgate compressor station). The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for Southgate, released February 14 by FERC staff, concludes that “approval of the Project would result in some adverse environmental impacts, but these impacts would be reduced to less-than significant levels through implementation of our recommendations and Mountain Valley’s proposed avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures.” For a copy of the 1,000+ page FEIS, click here.

Proposed MVP Extension Clears Environmental Review by FERC

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.