Andy Li, andy.li@sierraclub.org
RALEIGH, N.C. – Today, a group of clean air and water advocates announced the launch of the NC Pipeline Watch to monitor construction of the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project pipeline (SSEP).
The NC Pipeline Watch is composed of trained volunteers and staff involved with 7 Directions of Service, Clean Water for North Carolina, Yadkin Riverkeeper, Haw River Assembly, and the Sierra Club. Community volunteers are an essential part of construction monitoring. They will monitor SSEP construction activities by water, land, and air to help ensure potential violations are reported to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
Volunteers will observe the pipeline route by foot, boat, and airplane in order to spot suspected violations and look for spills and pollution. There is also an SSEP Volunteer Monitoring Guide with detailed instructions, a central submission page, and other resources so residents in the path of the pipeline can report problems they find on their property or connect with organizers to host a training. Experts will review the submissions and report confirmed violations to DEQ for enforcement.
“I am proud, yet saddened, to be one of the volunteers who have committed to monitoring this construction project,” said Dave Fairall, Excom of Foothills Group of the Sierra Club and NC Pipeline Watch volunteer. “Proud of the coalition that we have built to do this important work, and saddened that this is necessary due to major cuts to federal regulators, whose role it is to ensure compliance with environmental regulations on major infrastructure construction such as the SSEP. It is now up to environmental patriots to step in to oversee protection of our natural resources.”
The NC Pipeline Watch is partly modeled on the Mountain Valley Watch, and the Pipeline Compliance Surveillance Initiative, programs that encouraged volunteer observers and local residents to document suspected environmental violations and report them to regulatory agencies. With support from advocacy groups like West Virginia Rivers Coalition and POWHR, these efforts created public pressure resulting in notices of violation and stricter enforcement in Virginia and West Virginia along the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
“The health of North Carolina waterways is at risk due to this dangerous construction,” said Crystal Norford, Environmental Organizer/Researcher with Clean Water for North Carolina. “As construction begins, our support for frontline communities will not waver. SSEP Watch empowers residents to use their skills and voices to protect their communities and water resources from the harm this project could bring.”
7 Directions of Service has also launched a Toxic Tour, stopping in communities along the Southeast Supply Enhancement Pipeline (SSEP) route to raise awareness, share stories, and connect with neighbors. The next tour stop is in Reidsville on March 31, 5 to 8 p.m.
"As pipeline development advances, our work shifts accordingly,” said Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck, Executive Director of 7 Directions of Service. “We are mobilizing directly along the proposed routes - establishing multi-state, community-based ‘watch teams’ to monitor pipeline activities and continue holding developers accountable. It's important that at this moment, we come together across North Carolina and use our collective power to protect land, water, sacred sites, and community health."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, 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.