UPDATE: As of May, 2021, the North Caroline Department of Environmental Quality has denied the 401 for MVP Southgate, yet again!

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UPDATE: On Tuesday, August 8th 2020 the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality DENIED the 401 permit for MVP Southgate! This is a crucial and necessary permit that  would have allowed construction through over 200 waterbodies along the route in Pittsylvania County VA, Rockingham County NC and Alamance County NC. Years of work from our organization partnered with many other community members and organizations have paid off. (Link to Press Release from NCDEQ)

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Release from our Dan Riverkeeeper, Steven Pulliam:

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   "Each day more eyes are turned to the fact that our environment is suffering. Our wildlife, our air, our land and our water are in jeopardy and we must stand our ground to protect them as if our lives depend on it, because they do. Today we have yet another victory, another step towards securing our future and our right to clean resources in the Dan River watershed thanks to the perseverance and diligence of many community members, organizations and the NCDEQ. Today we won and tomorrow, we will keep fighting."

 

This decision means that, for now, MVP Southgate cannot be completed. Until the day this project is officially cancelled for good, we will continue working with all our communities and partners to fight against MVP Southgate and the MVP mainline.

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We would like to sincerely thank all the community members and organizations that have devoted their time and energy to fight MVP for the last two years. We did this, together.

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Background

The proposed MVP Southgate pipeline project would be a 73 mile extension of the troubled and incomplete MVP mainline that terminates in Pittsylvania County, VA. MVP Southgate would carry fracked natural gas from Pittsylvania County, VA through Rockingham and Alamance Counties in NC. This pipeline would cut through farms and private property, pass dangerously close to homes and private wells and cross numerous streams and wetlands, endangering water quality in the Dan and Haw River Basins.

 

MVP has a clear and recent history of neglecting erosion control measures throughout Virginia and West Virginia which has caused permit revocations, lawsuits and over 300 reported violations. We are against the MVP mainline project and MVP Southgate for many reasons: 

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• There is no proven need for this additional supply of fracked gas. We can meet our energy demands with existing infrastructure without allowing MVP to place our land, air and water quality in danger.

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•  These projects are being built for corporate profit, not necessity like eminent domain's intended use. Companies like MVP are allowed to charge ratepayers for the expense of these costly projects along with an additional 14% profit. No eminent domain for corporate gain!

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• MVP has clearly demonstrated that they are incapable of completing these projects safely or correctly with regard to permit requirements. The Virginia attorney general filed suit against MVP for racking up over 300 reported violations on their mainline project in the state.

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• Good Stewards was founded as an organized front against fracking. The process is dangerous for humans and the environment from start to finish. Being so, we are also against the proposed MVP Southgate that would carry fracked gas from the Utica and Marcellus shale regions. We are against fracking, anywhere. 

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• The pipeline will require clearing a 50' wide permanent and 100' construction easement of all trees and vegetation. The erosion from this loss of forests and plants will bring sedimentation into our streams, impacting water quality and destroying sensitive ecosystems. Species like the federally endangered Roanoke logperch only exist in the Dan and Roanoke River Basins and require clear, unpolluted water that is free of sedimentation. This species has already been impacted by the 2014 Dan River coal ash spill. 

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• The coating on the pipeline (3M Scotchkote Fusion Bonded Epoxy 6233 (FBE) ) helps prevent corrosion, the leading cause of pipeline failure. This epoxy resin leaches carcinogenic chemicals, like benzene, into the soil and water. 3M also lists the coating's chemicals as dangerous to aquatic life. Furthermore, the pipeline is left uncovered in the sun and elements for years at a time, degrading and leaching the coating before the pipe is even installed. This presents a twofold issue; 1) a pipeline more susceptible to corrosion failure/explosions and 2) chemical leaching that harms human and animal life. 

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• MVP endangers our farms. Farmers have long been the backbone of much of this region and when they speak up, we need to listen. To remove an acre of use from a farm, even seasonally, can have great negative impacts on the farmer and the community. MVP dropped carcinogenic pellets on farms in Virginia, costing one the loss of their organic certification. Organic farms are costly yet lucrative investments. To lose that certification can devastate the families relying on the return from that investment. Another farmer already has one pipeline in his generations-old farm and does not want another. It is also common for farmers and landowners to have their land taken before compensation is even received. The taking of land without consent or justification is un-American in every way. 

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• Pipelines can impact property values and impose costs to people and communities by risking recreation, tourism, development, aesthetics and water quality. Numerous fossil fuel industry funded studies argue there are no risks to property but have all used a heavily flawed research model. 

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Join, volunteer or donate to help us stop MVP Southgate!