MONDAY: Virginians Set to Oppose Another Dangerous Compressor Station in Virtual Hearing

RICHMOND, Va. -- The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will host a virtual public hearing Monday on whether to grant an air permit for the extension of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). MVP wants to build the Lambert Compressor Station in Pittsylvania County, Virginia so it can pump fracked gas through its proposed, equally controversial, Southgate extension into North Carolina. A similar compressor station air permit was one of the many obstacles that led to the cancellation of the nearby Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Interested Virginia residents can register now to attend the virtual public hearing Monday at 6:00 p.m.

The main line of the MVP is currently more than three years behind schedule and has nearly doubled its original budget, with many industry watchers openly questioning whether it will ever be completed at all. Nevertheless, MVP is seeking permits for its proposed Southgate extension. Compressor stations are necessary to push fracked gas through pipelines, and present a number of threats and nuisances for the communities in which they are sited. They are widely known for leaks of methane and other toxic chemicals that can cause a litany of health impairments to communities. In fact, the Lambert Compressor Station would increase particulate matter pollution in the area by almost 30% and MVP’s own projections show that it could emit nearly nine pounds of formaldehyde an hour. Given that four environmental justice communities have been identified within a 3-5 mile radius of the site and the nearby population is disproportionately older, the Lambert station would have a tremendous impact on public health.

Not only do compressor stations emit harmful pollutants, they can catch fire or explode. Per DEQ’s admission, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) “exceeds the respective permitting thresholds…” Additionally, the noise pollution created by compressor stations have been associated with increased health risks such as heart disease.

In response, Elizabeth Jones, Pittsylvania County NAACP Environmental Climate Justice Chair, said:

“As a Black woman, when I heard the MVP wanted to take our land to build this fracked gas pipeline, my first thought was ‘here we go again,’ because this is one more example of the disparities and injustices forced upon my community by systemic racism. This is a civil rights matter because polluting corporations like MVP plot and plan for their futures, but don’t care that we have futures, too.

“The MVP makes me frightened for the physical safety of my family, but the farm has been in our family for 98 years so I know this long and ongoing struggle to preserve the property rights of African Americans is nothing new. The threat of this dirty, dangerous project has already caused our property value to depreciate, but we will never let it devalue our identity, culture, and heritage.”

Lynn Godfrey, Community Outreach Coordinator, Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, released the following statement:

"DEQ should reject MVP’s air permit because these dirty, dangerous fracked gas compressor stations endanger the health of our people, communities, and climate. MVP has already had to pay millions of dollars in penalties for over 350 identified violations of commonsense environmental protections, so we certainly should not let them take on yet another polluting project. If MVP can’t be trusted to build the main section of their pipeline, we shouldn’t be granting them permits to build its extension.”

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