For Immediate Release:
Friday, Dec. 7, 2018
Contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
(804) 225-1902 | lfrancis@valcv.org
RICHMOND – Today, Attorney General Mark Herring, acting on behalf of the Department of Environmental Quality and the State Water Control Board, filed a lawsuit against Mountain Valley Pipeline in response to more than 300 alleged violations of environmental regulations and permits by the pipeline builder in Southwest Virginia.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, which crosses a wide swath of rugged terrain from Giles County to Pittsylvania County, is being developed by EQT Midstream Partners, which has a track record of environmental violations in other states where it’s built similar infrastructure.
In response to today’s news, Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, issued the following statement:
“Today’s lawsuit holding the developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline accountable for environmental devastation in Southwest Virginia is the show of leadership we’ve been waiting for from this Administration.
While fining this company for being a bad actor in Virginia is a welcome and necessary step forward, it’s important not to forget that Virginians who live along this route are still the ones paying the real price – in land taken from them repaid with mud-filled streams and rivers, and in a forever marred mountainside and rural landscape.
We hope this Administration has learned some hard lessons from Southwest Virginia it can apply if and when Dominion’s destructive and equally unnecessary Atlantic Coast Pipeline moves forward. At more than triple the footprint of the MVP, this project poses three times the threat to our waterways, our land, and our way of life, with no benefit to anybody but Dominion shareholders.”
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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