A group of five conservation organizations have petitioned the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals to review the new Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP12) for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) that was issued September 25 by the U.S. Corps of Engineers.  The NWP12 permit is required to permit the project to cross streams and rivers.  The October 5 petition, filed by Appalachian Mountain Advocates on behalf of the petitioners, argues that the new NWP12 for MVP is unlawful because it fails to comply with requirements of the Endangered Species Act and because the project is “ineligible to use NWP12 in Virginia because MVP still cannot satisfy” certain requirements in West Virginia.  The petitioners – Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Wild Virginia, Appalachian Voices and Chesapeake Climate Action Network – have also asked the Corps for an administrative stay until the requested judicial review by the Fourth Circuit is completed.

In other MVP developments, the U.S. Park Service issued a new permit for the pipeline on October 2.  And, as reported in the last issue of ABRA Update, the U.S. Forest Service issued on September 25 a Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS), necessary for the MVP to have a new permit issued by the Forest Service.  Comments on DSEIS are due November 9.

New Army Corps Permits for MVP Are Challenged in Court
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