Certification issued by state regulators ignores clear evidence
that pipeline construction imperils clean water, Virginia communities
For Immediate Release:
Friday, Oct. 19, 2018
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(804) 225-1902 | lfrancis@valcv.org
RICHMOND – Today, the Department of Environmental Quality issued final permits needed for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to move from the tree-clearing phase to full-bore construction of its dangerous, unnecessary 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline, which will impact more than 300 miles of Virginia mountainside, heartland and hundreds of waterways.
The certification comes even as evidence mounts in Southwest Virginia that state regulations did little to keep communities safe from the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which has clogged some of our state’s cleanest waters with mud and sediment as crews trenched across steep, rugged, flashflood-prone terrain.
In response to today’s news, Lee Francis, deputy director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, issued the following statement:
“Even as their on-the-ground safeguards for pipeline construction have failed Southwest Virginia, today state regulators saw it fit to allow an even larger, more complicated and environmentally destructive pipeline project to move forward, despite clear evidence that these pipelines can’t be built safely.
By allowing this project to advance, Virginia is putting its citizens, their clean water, and public health in harm’s way. We simply don’t need hundreds of miles of costly and environmentally destructive gas infrastructure to keep the lights on in Virginia, but sadly, this approval is a step toward marrying Virginia to a future of higher energy costs and volatile fossil fuels for years to come while Dominion Energy profits handsomely at our expense.”
About us:
The Virginia League of Conservation Voters serves as the political voice of the state’s conservation community, working to make sure Virginia’s elected officials recognize that our natural heritage is an environmental and economic treasure for all. Virginia LCV works with conservation leaders across Virginia and strives for a conservation majority in state government. We secure good public policies on the state level and hold public officials accountable for their positions on environmental issues. For more information, visit www.valcv.org.
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