Protecting the heritage, resources and economy of the Allegheny-Blue Ridge region
A near overflow crowd of 150 people gathered at the Staunton, VA Holiday Inn on March 3 to hear details about ABRA’s new Pipeline Compliance Initiative (CSI). The program is designed to support citizen efforts to ensure strict application of environmental laws and regulations in the construction and operation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP).
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Appalachian Mountain Advocates (Appalmad), on behalf of their client conservation and environmental groups, asked the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to halt construction by Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) developers until it decides whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) permit is valid.
Permission for contractors of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) to begin felling trees within the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests was granted by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) on March 2. ABRA was informed of the decision during the course of a meeting with USFS officials to discuss the ABRA CSI program.
A Volunteer Pipeline Visual Assessment Program has been developed by Trout Unlimited and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition to support and train volunteer citizen observers to identify, document and report pollution incidents associated with large-scale pipeline development. A series of free webinars have been scheduled for March 13 for Virginia residents and March 27 for West Virginians.
Landowners whose property is directly affected by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline or the Mountain Valley Pipeline are being urged to sign on to a letter to Virginia Governor Northam. The letter notes examples of serious harm to property and the environment from pipeline projects elsewhere in the country and urges the Governor to “take action to prevent similar harms in Virginia.