Nineteen conservation groups filed comments August 2 with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in support of a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement regarding the request by Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC to change the method of crossing 182 waterbodies along the route of the company’s proposed pipeline.
The groups, which include ABRA and several of its members, said:
“The Commission must prepare a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement—and cannot rely solely on an Environmental Assessment—to analyze the significant environmental impacts from Mountain Valley’s proposed certificate amendment and requested Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . . . Moreover, FERC’s environmental review must examine, on a crossing-by-crossing basis, alternative stream crossing methodologies—including the broader use of trenchless methods. . . The Commission must also fully consider the cumulative effects of the hundreds of stream crossings proposed by Mountain Valley, including the combined effects of multiple crossings of the same stream or watershed, as well as the combination of effects from crossings with upland construction and effects from trenchless crossings combined with open-cut, dry-ditch crossings. Additionally, the Commission must revisit its analysis of the climate impacts of the MVP given new executive orders and the Corps’ involvement as a cooperating agency, and must seek certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act from West Virginia and Virginia of any certificate amendment.”
The group’s filing was made in response to FERC’s July 1 request for comments on the MVP water crossings proposal. For a copy of the comments, click here.