Judge Sides with Anti-Pipeline Protesters in Appalachia, July 30, 2018
"Judge sides with anti-pipeline protesters in Appalachia," Pipeline opponents have warred against two ongoing projects for months. Think Progress, E.A. Crunden, Jul 30, 2018.
Production on a controversial pipeline cutting across parts of the South and Appalachia is in flux following a court ruling on Friday. Advocates hailed the decision but cautioned that pipeline construction is still underway, with activists still working to prevent the controversial project. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals handed a win to conservation groups on July 27, declaring that the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had erred in granting approval to pipeline developers for part of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). The 3.6 mile segment in question cuts through the Jefferson National Forest and would run under the Appalachian Trail.
“MVP’s proposed project would be the largest pipeline of its kind to cross the Jefferson National Forest,” Judge Stephanie Thacker wrote. “American citizens understandably place their trust in the Forest Service to protect and preserve this country’s forests, and they deserve more than silent acquiescence to a pipeline company’s justification for upending large swaths of national forest lands.” Thacker rescinded permissions for pipeline-related activities within the publicly-owned forest and sent the issue back to both the Forest Service and BLM for further inspection. The suit was brought by a coalition of organizations, including the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Wild Virginia, the Wilderness Society, Preserve Craig, and Save Monroe.
Activists greeted the ruling with applause. “This is a major victory for Virginia families and for all Americans,” said Appalachian Voices’ Virginia Program Manager Peter Anderson in a statement. Nathan Matthews, a staff attorney for the Sierra Club, said that the decision was “great news for Virginians” and a win for clean water and forest advocates.
“We have said all along that we can’t trust Mountain Valley Pipeline to protect Virginia’s water, so it’s refreshing to see the court refuse to take them at their word,” said Matthews. “We aren’t buying the gas industry’s claims about their water protection methods and now, the courts aren’t either.”
Other activists were less optimistic. In a statement to ThinkProgress Monday morning, the group Appalachians Against Pipelines cautioned against reporting that construction on the pipeline had halted and emphasized that no stop work order has been issued as of present. “Although the court decision is certainly a positive development, the pipeline continues to destroy land, water, and communities in the region,” the organization said. “If we want to actually stop this pipeline, we must take bold action against it.”...
READ MORE, https://thinkprogress.org/mountain-valley-pipeline-win-activists-96e4fb65b6ab/
