Environment and Outdoors
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – A regulatory panel has declined calls from environmental groups, landowners and others to reconsider important water-quality permits for two natural gas pipelines.
The State Water Control Board met Tuesday in Richmond to consider public comments it solicited earlier this year about the permits granted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines.
Staff from the Department of Environmental Quality gave an overview of the thousands of comments received, and the board also heard from attendees of the packed hearing, which was raucous and contentious at times.
Critics have argued the Corps’ review process is overly broad and have pushed for additional protections. DEQ has defended the process, and both pipeline companies say the review has been rigorous.
The board weighed a motion to consider re-evaluating or revoking the permits but voted it down.
The first of the fall deer hunting seasons begins one week from Saturday, and a Bedford County-based organization is already at work in efforts to provide venison to tens of thousands of Virginia families each year. Hunters for the Hungry works with hunters to donate deer meat, processors to prepare and freeze it and social service agencies to distribute it. WFIR’s Evan Jones has more:
Reports say there is no acceptable amount of time to leave a child alone in a hot vehicle, as WFIR’s Ian Price reports: Continue reading
Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality says it will continue to monitor the Mountain Valley Pipeline route for erosion and sediment control measures even as a stop-work order remains in effect. This comes after Friday’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission order to halt all pipeline work until further notice.
Virginia DEQ news release: Late on Friday, Aug. 3, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a stop work order for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). This followed the announcement on July 27, when the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals revoked MVP’s permits to cross the Jefferson National Forest. With construction of that 3.6-mile segment of federal land on hold, FERC decided late Friday that work on the entire project should stop. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) rules require site stabilization within seven days. FERC has similar rules and DEQ will work with FERC to ensure appropriate erosion and sediment control measures are in place throughout Virginia. DEQ will continue to inspect the project to ensure all erosion and sediment control measures are in place, installed properly and maintained throughout this stop work period. “The only work currently under way on the MVP project in Virginia is site stabilization,” said DEQ Director David Paylor. “Virginia’s laws give DEQ the authority to ensure the infrastructure is stabilized – and remains stabilized – for as long as the stop work order is in place.” DEQ will have consultants on site throughout the stoppage to identify what will be required of MVP to ensure stabilization. More details are available about Virginia’s annual standards and specifications for erosion control and stormwater for pipeline projects, and detailed in MVP’s overview, Project Specific Standards and Specifications for Virginia.
Gov. Ralph Northam announced Friday that Dominion Energy has filed for approval from the State Corporation Commission to erect two wind turbines. The initial demonstration project would stand about 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. If approved, electricity would begin to flow in 2020. The power company has teamed up with Orsted, a Denmark-based energy firm. Speaking in Norfolk, Northam said the pilot project would provide critical information that would allow the industry to expand. The offshore wind industry would be operating in waters that are also used by the military and for commercial and recreational purposes. Dominion said it’s funding the $300 million project with no added costs to taxpayers.
McLEAN, Va. (AP) — Federal regulators have ordered a stop to the construction of a 300-mile (483-kilometer) natural gas pipeline on a swath of national forest, following a recent decision by a federal appeals court. In a letter Friday to Mountain Valley Pipeline officials, the Federal Energy Commission said that the company hadn’t obtained rights-of-way or temporary use permits needed for the pipeline to cross federally owned lands since the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals canceled permits last week. Therefore, it says, construction “must cease immediately.” Construction of the pipeline, which would run through Virginia and West Virginia, prompted protests earlier this year from environmentalists. Some protesters have climbed into trees on the pipeline’s path and chained themselves to construction equipment.