Update 143 – Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance

Comments to Virginia DEQ on Water Quality Due Tuesday, August 22

The deadline for public comments to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality regarding whether the Atlantic Coast Pipeline or the Mountain Valley Pipeline should receive water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act is next Tuesday, August 22.

Legislators Call on DEQ to Protect Water, Fix Review Process

Four state legislators from western Virginia in the past few days are the latest to join with a bipartisan caucus calling on Gov. Terry McAuliffe and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to slow down, correct its process and ensure that water resources are protected from the impacts of the two major gas pipelines proposed through the region.

Hands Across the Appalachian Trail on August 19

A special event to highlight the danger to the Appalachian Trail from proposed natural gas pipelines will be held this coming Saturday, August 19, from 10:30 am to 12 noon at the Humpback Rocks Visitor Center, located at Milepost 5.8 on the Blue Ridge Parkway,

Executive Order Issued to Streamline Pipeline Environmental Reviews

President Trump issued on August 15 an Executive Order to streamline the approval process for infrastructure projects, including pipelines. The order, entitled “Establishing Discipline and Accountability in the Environmental Review and Permitting Process for Infrastructure,” establishes as a goal that the “processing of environmental reviews and authorization decisions for new major infrastructure projects should be reduced to not more than an average of approximately 2 years.” A Fact Sheet released with the Executive Order highlighted oil and natural gas pipeline projects as an important beneficiary of the streamlining move.