Target: Lieutenant General Scott A. Spellmon, Commanding General of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Goal: Deny the Mountain Valley Pipeline from receiving necessary permits.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a 42-inch fracked-gas pipeline that stretches over 300 miles across West Virginia. It has already devastated large swaths of land and harmed clean water sources across Appalachia, and has been fined millions of dollars for damages to public and private land. If it is completed it will contribute, in addition to continued environmental destruction, massive amounts of carbon dioxide and methane to the atmosphere, worsening the effects of climate change.
This pipeline would be the largest source of greenhouse gases in Virginia, and will pump those gases into the atmosphere. Methane, especially, which has been found to be 86 times more potent than CO2 in producing global warming, will be pumped out through both deliberate flaring and accidental leaks from drilling. We must fight hard against climate warming, and building a pipeline with a life expectancy of twenty to thirty years will have the exact opposite effect.
The MVP has recently petitioned for a permit that will allow them to dredge and fill waterways and wetlands, ostensibly where there are minimal impacts to the environment. There are over 1000 streams and wetlands crossing the path of the MVP, and there is no way to ensure an environmentally conscious path through all of them. The Army Corps, therefore, should listen to the warnings given by environmental and hydrologist experts and deny the MVP’s permit to continue the construction of this hazardous pipeline, which will contaminate water supplies and destroy the pristine natural beauty of West Virginia.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Lieutenant General Spellmon,
The Mountain Valley Pipeline is currently seeking permits to dredge waterways and streams to build across. This would allow them to cause massive environmental damage, on top of the millions of dollars of devastation that they have already caused. There is no way that this pipeline can be constructed without harming the environment, even setting aside its intended purpose, which is to continue the harmful use and transportation of fossil fuels in West Virginia.
Five separate hydrologists have concluded that granting this permit would cause extensive and irrevocable damage to the ecosystem. The Army Corps of Engineers should take a close and critical reevaluation of the permit request, not only denying it, but demanding a cessation of construction immediately.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo credit: Pxhere.com
Thank You for sharing this useful and great information.
With all the the environmental damage while drilling or fracking and the inevitable pipeline leaks, you’d think that companies would invest more money into clean, sustainable energies. Oil, gas and coal are all finite resources and they will eventually run out. With the “code red” that scientists have given to our climate chaos, our Earth and every living thing on it may not even last long enough to witness this. A transition needs to be done SOON.
I couldn’t have said it better. Agreed.