Environmentalists dropped off 10,000 petition signatures to the Governor’s office Tuesday, demanding he call for a more stringent environmental review for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines.
The petition comes just a day after state regulators signed off on construction plans for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Similar regulations for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline are still in the works.
LeeAnne Williams is a volunteer with the Virginia Sierra Club. She helped gather petition signatures over social media and she traveled to Richmond Tuesday to help deliver a message that she says landowners are getting tired of saying themselves.
“They are consumed with protecting their land and their water and their air and they’re exhausted from traveling to Richmond,” says Williams.
Additional Coverage: Monitors Mobilize Along ACP Route
David Sligh of Wild Virginia says it’s not too late for Governor Ralph Northam to demand more of state regulators. The petition demands that regulators: do an environmental review of each body of water in the pipelines’ paths; give citizens additional time to comment on construction plans; and order pipeline constructors to stop cutting down trees until regulations are finalized.
“The Governor should be standing with those citizens not with his bureaucrats,” says Sligh.
A spokesman says the Governor is confidant in the agency’s plans and that “the Department of Environmental Quality has subjected the proposed projects to the most rigorous, thorough, and environmentally-conscious review process in Virginia history.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
