Workers began laying portions of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Roanoke County near the Blue Ridge Parkway in 2018. (Photo by Ned Oliver/Virginia Mercury)
North Carolinians were able to provide public comment on a natural gas pipeline at a hearing Tuesday evening, the latest step in the MVP Southgate project cutting through the state.
The Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) held the hearing so members of the public could make their voices heard on Mountain Valley Pipeline’s LLC application for a 401 water quality certification.
Running through Rockingham and Alamance counties, the pipeline has been controversial project for years. DEQ denied a water quality permit for the Southgate project in 2020, NC Newsline previously reported.
Out of roughly 150 comments received in advance of Tuesday’s hearing, only three were in favor of the project: one, a coalition of pipeliners, another an individual who is affiliated with the pipeliners union, and a third person who did not indicate their affiliation.
Hundreds of members of the Pipeliners Local Union 798 signed a letter backing the project.
“In addition to the tax revenue and job creation that MVP Southgate is poised to generate, this project’s approval is clearly in the region’s best interest, as it secures access to domestically sourced natural gas, safely and efficiently transporting it back to consumers that need it most,” Danny Hendrix, the union’s business manager, wrote in a supporting statement.
The union’s letter highlights the financial opportunities and jobs that could be created by the project.
MVP Southgate would invest $21 million into North Carolina’s economy and support more than 200 jobs in the state, according to the letter.
Hendrix also cited a rising need for natural gas in the region and said the project has “consistently demonstrated a commitment to environmental-sustainable goals” by adhering to feedback from members of the community.
“MVP Southgate is a central part of making a reliable supply of natural gas available for residents and small business owners in the region,” the letter continued.
The bulk of the submitted comments oppose the project, with some entries spanning dozens and even hundreds of pages.
Some came from organizations like the Southern Environmental Law Center or Wild Virginia. Others were submissions from individuals simply indicating that they did not agree with the project.
Blakely Hildebrand, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, wrote the group’s opposition to the application.
She cited DWR’s denial of MVP’s original 401 water quality certification more than five years ago due to its “anticipated significant adverse impacts” to water quality in the state.
“MVP’s record of compliance with water quality laws and regulations in other states is abysmal,” Hildebrand wrote. “Virginia and West Virginia have issued dozens of notices of violation to MVP for its failure to project waterways in those states during construction of the MVP Mainline project.”
David Sligh, conservation director at Wild Virginia, focused on the proposed project’s impact to the environment in his letter on behalf of his group.
Pollutants from the project would enter Virginia since the Dan River flows downstream into the state from the project’s areas.
“While the direct discharges addressed in the application for MVP Southgate enter streams and wetlands in North Carolina, impacts from the project would affect Virginia waters and Wild Virginia’s interests,” he wrote.
Editor’s note: This story originally appeared in NC Newsline, which is, like the Virginia Mercury, part of States Newsroom.
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