A letter has been sent to top officials in the Biden Administration by over 60 conservation groups asking for a review of permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in light of President Biden’s Executive Order #13990, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis,” that was issued January 20, 2021. The letter points out that “MVP is inconsistent with several of the national objectives outlined in the Order, including the use of science in decision making, protecting our environment, ensuring access to clean air and water, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.” Continuing, the letter states:
MVP’s construction impacts to date have already caused irreparable harm to landscapes and clean water—West Virginia and Virginia have assessed MVP more than $2 million in penalties for more than 350 environmental violations, mostly related to improper erosion control and stormwater management, and there are allegations of even more. Yet there is much more high-risk construction still planned. MVP still has to construct several hundred waterbody crossings. Not one of MVP’s nine “spreads” is 100% complete; only 51.3% of the entire route is completed to final restoration. MVP’s route includes more than 225 miles of high landslide risk—more miles than any other approved gas pipeline, comprising more than 74% of the route. The remaining sections to be constructed include some of the steepest slopes and extensive karst topography, raising significant concerns that more environmental damage will occur, destroying private property along the way when there is no public benefit.
Recipients of the letter were the Secretary of the Interior, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Secretary of Agriculture, Acting Secretary of the Army, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality and the National Climate Advisor to the President. ABRA and several of its member organizations are among the signatories.
For a copy of the letter and list of signatories, click here.