Residents Seek Extension of Mountain Valley Pipeline Comment Period

Montgomery County residents spoke out about the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline at last night’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Four people stood to address what they see as a lack of available information about the project, asking the Board to request a 90 day extension of the scoping comment period from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

According to Montgomery County resident Angela Stanton, who is one of the founding members of the group Preserve The New River Valley, argued that the newly identified alternative routes justify additional time for residents who might now find themselves on one of those routes to evaluate the impact it might have on them and to express their concerns to the FERC. Another resident told Board members he had just learned last week that the pipeline would pass within 100 feet of his house. Another point of concern is that the developers of the pipeline have not identified the exact location of the compressor station that will be built somewhere in Montgomery County.

Board members were very receptive to the concerns expressed by the residents and voted to pass a resolution calling for the FERC to grant the 90 day extension. Supervisor Chris Tuck noted that budget discussions were now over and that it was time for the Board to again take up the issue, and the Board agreed to do so during the work session of the May 11^th scheduled meeting. Pipeline developers are scheduled to give the Board an update during the meeting on May 26^th.

The FERC will host a regional scoping meeting on May 5^th at Eastern Montgomery High School in Elliston to solicit input on an environmental impact statement relating to the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Speaker signup begins at 6 pm and the meeting begins at 7 pm.