Activists challenge Mountain Valley permits
RICHMOND — Environmental groups have filed a challenge against permits that were recently issued to the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The Roanoke Times reported Monday that a petition was filed with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
The Sierra Club and seven other environmental groups challenged permits that were reissued last week. The permits would allow Mountain Valley to cross nearly 1,000 streams and wetlands along its 303-mile path in Virginia and West Virginia.
The natural gas pipeline project has been barred from active construction for nearly a year. But after two key sets of federal permits were restored, Mountain Valley asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to lift its stop-work order.
But environmental groups have requested that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers stay its newpermits for waterbody crossings.
At issue is Mountain Valley’s plan to cross streams and rivers by either boring under them or using dams and pumping systems to bury the pipe
Mountain Valley says there is a public need for natural gas. But environmental groups say the pipeline is polluting a scenic part of the country.