ROANOKE, Va. (AP) _ Following heavy rains, construction at a Mountain Valley Pipeline site in Virginia has been suspended until erosion control measures are established. The Roanoke Times reports the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality is investigating how dams and other measures failed to stop last week’s rains from sweeping away soil unearthed by heavy equipment in Franklin County. Both lanes of a nearby road were covered by up to 8 inches of mud. Department spokeswoman Ann Regn called the mudflow “clearly unacceptable.” She says the pipeline’s concrete barriers had “completely disappeared.” Pipeline spokeswoman Natalie Cox asserted the controls were installed properly but were affected by “unusual circumstances.” State regulators and the company say the mudflow didn’t reach streams. The 300-mile pipeline was cited for erosion control problems in West Virginia last month.
