For Immediate Release:
Friday, Dec. 3, 2021
Media contact:
Lee Francis | Deputy Director
Virginia League of Conservation Voters Education Fund
(434) 989-3197 | lfrancis@valcv.org
CHATHAM, VA – Today, acting through the lens of the Virginia Environmental Justice Act, the State Air Pollution Control Board rejected a permit that would have allowed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) to operate a compressor station in an environmental justice community alongside existing fossil fuel infrastructure already negatively impacting public health in this part of Pittsylvania County.
This decision deals a major blow to MVP’s second-phase plans to continue into North Carolina, dubbed “Southgate,” and comes just days before the State Water Control Board will weigh whether to grant MVP permits it needs to lay pipe through hundreds of sensitive water bodies along the main part of the route – a vote that could seal this project’s fate.
In response to today’s action, Michael Town, executive director of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters Education Fund, issued the following statement:
“Congratulations to all the activists and community leaders who have been fighting this destructive project tooth and nail! Today’s vote is great news for clean air and our climate, and shows just how far Virginia’s come on issues of environmental justice in just the past few years. With the Air Board acting today to protect citizens in the path of this project, we hope the Water Board, too, will do the right thing here in the coming days for our environment, citizens’ health and safety, and clean water.”
About us:
We build a stronger, more diverse, and more engaged conservation voter movement in order to protect the natural environment and improve the quality of life of all Virginians. We envision an equitable and just Virginia, where all communities enjoy clean air and water, open space, a liveable climate, and a democracy that works for all Virginians. For more information, visit www.valcvef.org.
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