RADFORD — Pro-pipeline speakers dominated the first 50 minutes of a public hearing convened Tuesday night at Radford University by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
They signed up first and they spoke first.
Speaker after speaker touted the benefits they said the Mountain Valley Pipeline would offer the state and the region. They said the natural gas pipeline would create jobs, meet what they described as a growing demand for the fossil fuel, boost tax revenues and economic development, enhance national security and more.
They expressed confidence that the pipeline could be built and operated safely and that DEQ is prepared to do its job to protect water quality.
“Water is essential but so is economic development,” said Max Beyer, a member of Roanoke County’s Pipeline Advisory Committee.
Water was the focus of the public hearing, held in Bondurant Auditorium on the campus of Radford University. About 250 people attended; 137 signed up to speak for up to three minutes each.
DEQ sought public comment on draft conditions the agency might recommend if the State Water Control Board decides to grant Mountain Valley the Clean Water Act 401 water quality certification it needs from Virginia to proceed with construction.
The company wants to build and bury a 42-inch diameter pipeline through the region to transport natural gas at high pressure.
The pipeline would be buried in a trench ranging in depth from about 5.5 feet to 9 feet, depending on terrain. Its route would travel through steep and rocky terrain, areas prone to landslides, soils prone to erosion and landscapes rife with sinkholes and underground aquifers vulnerable to contamination. About 216 miles of the route would cross shallow bedrock that might require blasting.
The construction right-of-way would be about 125 feet wide in most places, a swath that would be cleared of trees and other vegetation.
When Brian Wahl reached the microphone, he suggested that the pro-pipeline speakers who preceded him were “dreadfully off topic.”
He observed that the “E” in DEQ does not stand for employment, energy or economic development. He challenged the DEQ staff on hand, along with Lou Ann Jessee-Wallace, a citizen member of the State Water Control Board who served as hearing officer Tuesday, to take a stand for the environment and water quality.
The 303-mile, $3.5 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline would travel about 106 miles in Virginia. The pipeline would begin in Wetzel County, West Virginia, and end at the Transco pipeline in Pittsylvania County. In Virginia, the pipeline would travel through the counties of Giles, Montgomery, Craig, Roanoke and Franklin en route to the Transco pipeline.
As an interstate pipeline, the Mountain Valley project needs approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Wahl and other speakers wondered why DEQ had said Tuesday night’s hearing would not accept for the record comments about erosion and sediment control plans being developed for the Mountain Valley project.
Diana Christopulos, a regional environmental activist, said that approach was flawed. She said DEQ was arbitrarily separating the study of water quality impacts into multiple categories.
She said water quality does not work that way in the real world, noting that erosion and sediment transport not only silt but also bacteria, pesticides, herbicides and whatever else can be washed into watersheds during heavy rains.
DEQ has been criticized for relying on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ permitting process to scrutinize pipeline crossings of streams and wetlands.
During Tuesday night’s hearing, David Perry, executive director of the Blue Ridge Land Conservancy, reiterated this criticism. And he said the deforestation associated with the project, the route’s travel up and down steep slopes and other realities of construction and operation are destined to yield significant environmental damage.
Speaker Rick Shingles, a member of Preserve Giles County, directed DEQ to reports by geologists he described as experts about karst landscapes, which are characterized by sinkholes, caves, sinking streams and underground aquifers.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline would travel through karst landscapes in portions of Giles, Montgomery and Roanoke counties.
Shingles said the experts have noted that the pipeline would be threatened by “multiple geological hazards,” including karst, steep slopes and even seismic activity associated with the Giles County Seismic Zone.
On Tuesday night, David Butterworth, a business agent for Pipeliners Local Union 798, said the welders who work on pipelines are held to strict standards. He said the pipeline would be safe.
One of the experts referenced by Shingles was Ernst Kastning, a retired professor of geology at Radford University. Kastning spoke Tuesday night and warned that the pipeline could have lasting impacts on drinking water supplies for the region.
Richard Caywood, assistant county administrator for Roanoke County, told DEQ that the county is concerned about the pipeline’s impact on the wells and springs many residents depend on for drinking water. Caywood said DEQ should require Mountain Valley to post a performance bond to help ensure the company protects these resources.
Robert Johnson, a resident of Bent Mountain in Roanoke County, referenced the threat the pipeline posed to Bottom Creek, a stream noted for its water quality, and its tributaries. Johnson, who once worked for DEQ, said construction of the pipeline across Poor Mountain and through the streams and wetlands of Bent Mountain would violate provisions of the Clean Water Act.
He said the only rational decision by DEQ would be recommending denial of the 401 water quality certification sought by Mountain Valley.
But DEQ’s brochure about the pipeline public hearings notes: “DEQ’s preliminary decision is to recommend issuance of a Section 401 Certification with conditions.”
DEQ will hold a second public hearing Wednesday night in Chatham at Chatham High School focused on the draft conditions for water quality certification.
Separately, the agency agreed to participate in two informal meetings scheduled for Thursday. DEQ Director David Paylor has said he will attend, offer remarks and answer questions. Spoken comments will not be recorded by DEQ at these meetings.
The Thursday meetings will be at the Newport Community Center in Giles County, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., and at Cave Spring High School in Roanoke County from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
