Virginia Water Board Passes on Chance to Hold Fracked Gas Pipeline Accountable

Board Will Not Move Forward with Review of MVP’s Water Permit
Contact

Doug Jackson, 202.495.3045 or doug.jackson@sierraclub.org

RICHMOND, VA -- Today, the Virginia State Water Control Board failed to establish a process for revoking the Water Quality Certificate for the fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The decision comes despite MVP having committed more than 300 violations of commonsense water protections, a pattern of failure that even led Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring to sue the project.

Although construction of gas pipelines is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), individual states have the authority to reject pipeline construction under section 401 of the Clean Water Act if they determine the project would degrade water quality beyond acceptable standards.

In response, Sierra Club Virginia Chapter Director Kate Addleson released the following statement:

"Our Water Control Board seems to have forgotten that the C stands for ‘control,’ not ‘complicity.’ There is no right way to build this dirty, dangerous fracked gas pipeline, and the Northam administration must uphold its responsibility to Virginians and recognize that without real consequences, the polluting corporations behind it will keep running roughshod through our commonwealth, threatening Virginians’ health, safety and clean water.”

###

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.