ABRA has unveiled the first phase of its National Forest Integrity Project (NFIP). The project, part of ABRA’s Conservation Hub, is a monitoring program created to track proposed and ongoing projects in the three National Forests that are located within the Central Appalachian Highlands (Monongahela in West Virginia and George Washington and Jefferson in Virginia).
Appeals on MVP water certification filed with Fourth Circuit
The December decisions by Virginia and West Virginia to grant water certificates to the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) have been appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Appalachian Mountain Advocates (Appalmad) filed with the Fourth Circuit on behalf of Sierra Club and five other conservation groups a petition for review of the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s December 30 approval of a permit for the MVP under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.
WV Highlands Conservancy files objection with Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service’s (NFS) environmental assessment of one of its projects in the Monongahela National Forest is the subject of a strong objection filed January 3 by the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy (WVHC).
The Greenbrier Southeast project in the Monongahela National Forest,
MVP appeals Virginia Air Board vote on compressor station permit
Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (MVP) on December 31 filed an appeal with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals over the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board’s December 3 denial of a permit for the Lambert Compressor Station, a project associated with the Southgate Extension of the MVP,
Virginia Water Board approves MVP permit
The Virginia State Water Control Board voted 3-2 on December 14 to approve a water quality certificate for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). Two members were not present. The project still needs a water certificate from West Virginia, which is expected to act by December 31,
2021 has been a consequential year of transition for ABRA
The past year has been an important year of transition for the Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance. Among our accomplishments have been:
- Transitioning from an organization dedicated to defeating the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to an alliance with the long-term goal of promoting and protecting the ecological integrity of the Central Appalachian Highlands region of Virginia and West Virginia.
Groups comment on new migratory bird regulations
Thirty-five conservation groups, including ABRA and several of its members, filed comments with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on December 3 in response to the agency’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding incidental take regulations under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).
Conservation groups comment to Army Corps on MVP permit
Twenty-two conservation groups, including ABRA and several of its members, filed comments on November 19 with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the permit application for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to cross rivers and streams under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
Virginia Water Board to consider permit for MVP on December 14
The Virginia State Water Control Board will consider at its December 14 meeting in Richmond the pending application for a water protection permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The meeting will be held at the Gallery, Community College Workforce Alliance,
Jordan Cove project in Oregon cancelled, ending a 17-year battle
The proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon and the associated 229-mile natural gas pipeline have been cancelled. The action was announced in a December 1 filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission requesting that the agency vacate the project’s authorization.