RE: WASHINGTON D.C. RALLY ON SAFETY RISKS OF MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPE
Many pipe sections have been weathering for years!
>>> News Release from Maury Johnson and Roberta Bondurant, Preserve Bent Mountain, July 18, 2023
WHO: Residents along the right of way of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in WV and VA, and supporters
WHAT: Rally outside PHMSA (Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration)
WHERE: 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C
WHEN: Thursday, July 20, at noon
WHY: The manufacturer of the coating on the pipe segments says it starts degrading after six months above ground, exposed to the elements, yet much of the pipe has been sitting along the right of way for five year.
SPEAKERS: Maury Johnson, an impacted WV landowner; Roberta “Bert” Bondurant, an advocate with Preserve Bent Mountain (VA), Bill Limpert, retired water pollution environmental regulator who has researched pipeline issues
Maury Johnson says, “The severely degraded MVP pipe, that has been lying along the MVP Right of Way (ROW) — including on my family’s property — and in pipe storage yards for years beyond its manufacturer’s recommended expiration date, is a risk to everyone who lives, works or plays near this pipe,” says Johnson. “It should never be used in ANY construction, either along the MVP ROW or elsewhere. It will put at peril hikers of the Appalachian Trail on Peters Mountain, boaters, rafters, fishermen and others who recreate near the rivers and streams in both WV and VA where it is used. It will put travelers at risk who traverse the many road and stream crossings where it has been or could possibly be used in the future.”
Roberta “Bert” Bondurant says, “MVP says that ‘safety is its priority…’ Yet it wants to use its corroding pipes with long degraded coating, thousands of which MVP rushed to sites in 2018, then left lying beside water body crossings, floating in trenches and sitting in standing water for extended periods—increasing threats of corrosion, explosion and fire for landowners and communities in its path. Complaining of spending excess time, money and inconvenience, MVP plans to perform lesser quality, patchwork, environmentally toxic pipe rehab on site—in proximity to drinking water sources. Best practice has shown that in-factory, climate controlled setting is the environmentally safest and most effective way to repair a massive stock of degraded pipe.”
“MVP assumed the risk, in its 2018 federal court testimony, for aggressively rushing its pipe to sites as early as 2018. Our agencies and public servants must prohibit MVP from forcing the increasingly more dangerous burdens of its big gambit upon landowners and communities.“
Bill Limpert has been digging into pipeline issues for the past ten years. “I believe that the Mountain Valley Pipeline, as currently constructed, is a significant threat to public safety,” he says. “Numerous safety upgrades must be made before the pipeline goes into operation. The MVP public safety risk is unacceptably high due to the following issues: MVP explosive potential, pipe coating deficiencies, cathodic protection deficiencies, numerous and ongoing landslides, MVP’s history of violations, weak regulations and enforcement, and failure of FERC and PHMSA to keep the public informed.”