Mountain Valley Pipeline continues to pollute the waterways of endangered fishes and disregards federal restrictions
The Mountain Valley Pipeline has only done erosion and sediment control, (ESC) maintenance since August 2019 at this location except the recent construction activity on March 25 past the federal restriction date. For over three years MVP’s ESCs failures have polluted the habitat for the endangered Roanoke logperch fish. Sediment filled water inhibits the ability of the endangered Roanoke logperch to be able to find food, mate and survive.
“The Roanoke logperch, an endangered species, reproduces between March 15 and June 30, causing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to set a time-of-year restriction on construction activity in waterbodies known to host the imperiled fish, including the Roanoke River.” Roanoke Times article
MVP chose to extract tree sitters next to a stream that MVP didn’t have a permit to cross after the federal restriction to conduct construction in the waterways for the endangered Roanoke logperch, on March 25. On April 24 the logs and trees still lay in the stream even after MVP had returned to do maintenance on the project.
April 24, 2021 MVP’s erosion and sediment controls still not installed according to code or properly maintained.
The following slides are from pollution events that took place at the end of March, 2021 and were reported to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
March 27 after an inch of rain, MVP turnout near Yellow Finch Lane continues to fail causing non-point source pollution to enter stream
March 28 after 0.4 inches, MVP’s non-point source pollution leaving corridor, going down lane, under ESCs and going into stream:
March 27 after an inch of rain, MVP’s polluted water going under ESCs on lane created enough pressure to make an underground tunnel into the stream
March 28 after 0.4 inches of rain failing ESCs on access road allows MVP pollution to enter stream:
March 31 after 0.4 inches of rain, failing ESCs on access road allows MVP pollution to enter stream through underground tunnel:
March 31 MVP access road after 0.1 inch of rain:
March 31 MVP access road after additional precipitation in process of 0.3 inches of rain for a total of 0.4 inches:
March 28, 2021 after 0.4 inch of rain, pollution from MVP corridor enters stream:
March 28 after 0.4 inch of rain, upstream from MVP corridor:
March 31 after 0.4 inch rain, pollution from MVP corridor enters stream :
March 31 after 0.4 inch of rain upstream from MVP corridor, water is clear with some turbidity:
March 28 after 0.4 inches of rain, ESCs failures along corridor turnout one:
March 28 after 0.4 inches of rain ESCs failures along corridor turnout two:
March 28 after 0.4 inches of rain ESCs failures along corridor turnout three:
March 28 after 0.4 inches of rain, runoff from ESCs failures along corridor from turnouts one, two and three:
March 27 after an inch of rain, water going under super-silt fence where there is now 10 holes in the fabric
MVP’s polluted water from the watershed of turnouts 1, 2, & 3. Photo & video taken on March 27 after an inch of rain:
March 31 after 0.4 inches of rain, ESCs on the other side of access road fail dumping pollution into stream going through culvert:
March 27, 2021 after one inch of rain:
March 31 after 0.4 inch of rain, upstream from MVP the water is clear:
March 31 after 0.4 inches of rain, polluted water from MVP watershed merging with clean water from a different watershed going through culvert on Cove Hollow Rd.
Culvert on Cove Hollow Rd:
March 31 after less than a half inch of rain:
March 27 after an inch of rain:
March 28 after 0.4 inch of rain
Photographs with GPS, date and time stamps and videos in this presentation were taken by: Freeda Cathcart, Volunteer Citizen Monitor
Federal and state regulatory agencies have been unable or unwilling to provide appropriate oversight to the MVP project. This has led to environmental groups having success in the courts to hold MVP accountable for the excessive harm being caused by the project to the environment.
Virginia’s waterways and endangered species have been harmed for over three years without appropriate actions to protect our ecosystem.