The MVP Protest Run
April 24 - May 4, 2021
On April 24th, 2021 a team of three women - Mercedes Walters, Sarah Hodder, Katie Thompson- began running/cycling 415 miles from West Virginia to Virginia paralleling the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) construction path. The purpose is to protest the building of the MVP, document the community and environmental impact of the pipeline, and raise donations to benefit the impacted community. The project will span from April 24th - May 4th and will be relay style. The following is from their webpage:
The Mountain Valley Pipeline is an assault on our home. We don't have time to build more fossil fuel infrastructure that locks in burning carbon for decades. We reject this project that has already scarred our land, muddied our streams, and threatened our well water and our livelihoods, all so someone who doesn't even live here can make a nice return on their investment. This must stop.
The planned Mountain Valley Pipeline route runs through public protected land, privately owned land, Monacan Indian Nation land, and over 1,000 different water sources. We're running the route over 10 days to meet impacted communities and collect their stories.
The schedule:
Wednesday 4/28 ~ Craigsville to Grassy Meadows (Summers County), WV
Thursday 4/29 ~ Grassy Meadows to Lindside (Monroe Co), WV
Friday 4/30 ~ Attend potluck supper (5pm) and/or bonfire (8pm), Lindside (Monroe Co), WV
Saturday 5/1 ~ Lindside, WV, to Salem, VA
Sunday 5/2 ~ Lunch (12p-2p) in Bent Mountain w/reps of the Monacan Indian Nation Cultural Foundation
Monday 5/3 ~ Salem to Boone's Mill (Franklin County), VA
Tuesday 5/4 ~ Boone's Mill to Chatham (Pittsylvania Co), VA. Attend a receiving party (5p-7p) for the runners, Chatham, VA
To follow on Facebook: POWHR
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FIND AREA RIVER GAUGES AND FLOW CHARTS @
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ACT NOW! COMMENTS NEEDED BY APRIL 28 |
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Tell the Corps of Engineers to Say "No" on MVP Destruction
Twice, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has tried to allow Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to rush forward to dig and blast through hundreds of our streams and wetlands - twice the courts have rejected these attempts.
Now MVP has applied to the Corps for a third time. This time the Corps must act responsibly, live up to its legal responsibilities, and deny the permit.
Your voice matters - help protect the precious waters you care about.
Some issues you can raise:
- The comment period must be extended. 30 days is grossly inadequate to allow the public to make thorough and complete comments.
- MVP's application fails to describe all of the environments to be affected or fully explain potential harms.
- The Corps must recognize that the project is not needed and that it will cause unacceptable increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
- Describe your interests in particular waterbodies, how you use and enjoy them, how MVP would damage your interests, and any impacts you've already seen from MVP's pollution.
Submit your comments to:
More information is available at the Corps’ website or by calling (304) 399-5610.
** Remember - the deadline for comments is April 28, 2021 **
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Greenbrier River Fly Fishing Classic
May 22, 2021
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Register now for the 2021 Greenbrier River Fly Fishing Classic. Visit their website and check out the registration page link for TourneyX, the rules and regs, past event history, river launch information and most importantly all current sponsors.
If you are on the fence about competing, you might as well jump on board, you wont regret it! (Photo: Donovan Reeves with the 2016 winning fish.) Register HERE
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Mark Jarrell: Pipelines aren't green versus business |
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Lots of times, environmental battles are framed as the greens versus business and jobs, but the reality is much more often individuals versus big corporations and the government agencies they dominate. There is no better example than the way private landowners are being pushed around by the huge Mountain Valley Pipeline.
I’m a landowner in Pence Springs. More than 3,000 feet of the MVP slices through my property, entirely against my will. In the past six years, dealing with the pipeline has been nothing more than anguish and frustration for me.
To my astonishment and disillusionment, I’ve found that the big corporations seem to have captured the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to the point that the FERC (and the incredible power of eminent domain it’s been granted to take away people’s property and rights) is little more than an extension of the industry.
Since it makes no sense to have more than one pipeline go from a gas field to a market, the FERC was given the power to prevent duplication. And since a single landowner could hold up a project that (at least supposedly) everyone needs, the FERC was given the power to allow a private for-profit corporation the awesome power of eminent domain to seize people’s property against their will.
Pipelines are supposed to serve “public convenience and necessity” to gain approval, but the FERC is funded by the fees and fines it imposes on the corporations it is supposed to be regulating. Its view of what the public wants and needs is so skewed and self-serving that the FERC almost never turns down a pipeline project.
Lawyers who follow pipeline approval say the agency relies almost entirely on information from the companies’ applications to reach a decision. Once they get approval, these projects get an immoral and un-American level of power to violate private property rights. The FERC seems to think that, if a landowner has settled and received “fair compensation,” then all is well.
But how would they know? Despite numerous calls, letters and emails over several years, I have had exactly one contact with a FERC representative. Once the FERC grants a certificate of approval, that’s the last of their involvement with a landowner. Some people settle because they feel powerless against a well-funded corporation backed by a government agency. But to add insult to injury, the Mountain Valley Pipeline then makes the outrageous claim that all these landowners approve of the project.
The MVP has been able to bully and abuse landowners like me by misleading, ignoring and breaking commitments. I believe I was lied to from day one, when my property was surveyed without my permission.
I have some hope that, with the new administration and new appointees to the FERC, landowners like me might get something closer to fair treatment. The FERC is just now creating an Office of Public Participation, and it is my hope that, in the future, other people won’t have to go through a similar nightmare.
Mike Jarrell lives in Pence Springs.
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Mountain Valley Pipeline Crossing in Newport, Virginia (Giles County)
Courtesy of the artist Robert Tuckwiller
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Time to Renew your Kroger Card Community Rewards
Don't forget to renew, or sign up, to designate
Greenbrier River Watershed Association as your recipient.
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WV Rivers ~ Program Director
WVRivers is looking for a Program Director. This is a senior-level full-time position which provides overall leadership in the areas of program development and implementation, fundraising, and administration. Read the full job description.
The Program Director manages a team of 3-5 staff members and will oversee performance management, professional development, and work plan development for each team member. The Program Director reports to the Executive Director. Strong candidates will have significant work experience in:
- program development and management;
- grants management and compliance; and
- building and maintaining collaborative partnerships with organizations across the state.
General working knowledge of issues related to WV Rivers’ mission of conserving and restoring rivers and streams is required.
WV Rivers is a remote work place; WV residency is required. Learn more about the position’s salary range and competitive benefits here. Please, no phone calls.
Help spread the word. Please forward this announcement on to others you believe would be a good candidate.
Appalachian Trail Conservancy ~ Visitor Center Supervisor
Appalachian Trail Conservancy is looking for a Visitor Center Supervisor to manage operations at our #AppalachianTrail Visitor Center in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. This role is responsible for creating high-quality experiences for visitors through education and programming, managing a team of visitor center volunteers, and providing information about #AT recreation and stewardship.
To learn more about the role and apply,
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Sign the Petition: No Pipelines Across the Appalachian Trail
Dear Senators Warner and Kaine:
I strongly encourage you to oppose any change to the law that would allow destructive natural gas pipelines to cross the Appalachian Trail on our precious federal lands. Dominion Energy wants a special favor from Congress, allowing it to mar our important scenic areas for its profit.
We ask that you stand up for the public's rights and interests; not allow Dominion's money and political power to sway you. The AT and the mountains they cross are our natural heritage - our common wealth.
FERC Virtual Open Meeting
May 20, 2021
Virtual Open Meeting (Free Webcast available best viewed using Microsoft Edge)
Commission meeting held in Commission Meeting Room (Room 2C) at FERC Headquarters, 888 First St. N.E., Washington, D.C. 20426
A free live webcast is available for this meeting. All webcasts are archived for 3 months. Full info HERE
Follow these pages
WV Rivers ~ WV Rivers is the statewide voice for water-based recreation and clean, drinkable, swim-able, and fishable rivers and streams-from the headwaters to wherever water flows in West Virginia.
WV Environmental Council ~ Facilitate communication and cooperation among citizens in promoting environmental protection in West Virginia, to assist in organizing grass roots groups, to facilitate interaction among established environmental organizations, and to correspond with all appropriate local, state, and federal agencies involved in the management of West Virginia's environment.
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If you appreciate the work we are doing, please consider a donation today. |
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WV Flood Tool
LINK TO STATEWIDE STREAM GAUGES
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