If Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe’s Department of Environmental Quality continues its present course, it will likely suffer the same embarrassment.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – AUGUST 13: Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe answers questions from members of the press after attending morning services at the First Baptist Church August 13, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The city of Charlottesville is still reeling following violence at a ‘Unite the Right’ rally held by white nationalists, neo-Nazis and members of the ‘alt-right’. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
As public attention was focused on the destruction wrought by Hurricane Harvey and the unfolding disaster of Hurricane Irma, West Virginia dropped a bombshell on what has become a nationwide battle over fracked gas pipelines. On Sept. 7, West Virginia’s Department of Environmental Protection revoked its previous approval of the 300-mile, $3.5 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).
In a terse two-sentence letter, West Virginia stated that it “hereby vacates and remands the Section 401 Water Quality Certification issued on March 23, 2017.” West Virginia provided no reason for this extraordinary action, saying only that it needed to “reevaluate the complete application.”
The Mountain Valley Pipeline would transport fracked gas from West Virginia to Virginia and is one of two fracked gas pipelines under consideration by West Virginia. The second, and much larger, project is the $5.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run 600 miles from West Virginia through Virginia and North Carolina.
Construction of these pipelines cannot proceed unless they first obtain approvals from environmental agencies in each of the affected states. Such approvals, known as Water Quality Certifications, are required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. These state certifications are in addition to wholly separate approvals required from federal agencies, most notably the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has issued a draft certification and held a public comment period on both pipelines but has not issued a final certification. Neither has North Carolina.
Huffington Post – Jonathan Sokolow – 09.14.2017
Posted by Nelson Bailey
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