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Why This Matters: This is yet another blow to the natural gas and pipeline industries. With the entire MVP system in jeopardy, the fracked gas that would have moved through this pipeline will now have to be delivered some other way or go somewhere else. The state also is working to wean itself from fossil fuels — under the leadership of Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat, they have a goal to be carbon neutral by 2050. Without that policy in place, or if the Governor were a Republican, perhaps this pipeline would have been approved. Elections do matter.
Why Take the Risk
The MVP pipeline is awaiting a biological opinion from the Fish and Wildlife Service required by the Endangered Species Act, and the project also needs a right-of-way permit from the Forest Service, according to E&E News. The NC DEQ relied heavily on the fact that in its application, the pipeline company said it would begin construction on the MVP Southgate project immediately once all necessary permits are in place, irrespective of the completeness of the MVP Mainline project. The Agency decided that “[a]pproving construction activities and thereby allowing the most adverse environmental impacts – without certainty of the project’s utility upon completion – is inconsistent with principles of minimization” and thus denied the permit. MVP had a history of violations that probably also was a factor. The Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) noted that MVP has paid over $2 million in penalties as a result of more than 300 water quality violations alleged by both Virginia and West Virginia.
Sends a Signal on EJ
Luis Martinez, Director of Southeast Energy at NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Council) said in a statement,
“The state has made clear that dangerous gas pipelines that threaten rivers, streams, wetlands, and other priceless water resources have no place in North Carolina. Denying this key permit is a decisive victory for water quality, the environment and the health and safety of North Carolinians. This decision demonstrates that North Carolina can and must quit its harmful addiction to dirty fossil fuels. MVP Southgate has always been a bad deal for North Carolinians – it should be shelved for good.”
And Crystal Cavalier, a citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, an indigenous activist told NC Policy Watch that the MVP Southgate pipeline would have run through indigenous family lands and possibly even Indian burial mounds near waterways along the route of the MVP. She told NC Policy Watch, “I’m so excited that North Carolina is taking a stand for indigenous people. Because once you dig up this land, you can’t renew it.”
Scaling production of EVs in the U.S. will require a ramp-up in domestic battery production. Now there’s good news on that front. A battery factory in Georgia can move forward after LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation (South Korean companies), two of the world’s biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturers, settled a dispute.
Why This Matters: The dispute threatened U.S. production of EVs. SK has contracts to produce batteries for electric Ford F-150 pickup trucks and Volkswagen SUVs.
by Ashira Morris, ODP Staff Writer Right now, 95% of American public school buses run on diesel fuel, but that could soon change thanks to part of the Biden administration’s massive infrastructure proposal. The new Clean Buses for Kids Program would electrify at least 20% of the country’s iconic yellow school bus fleet. It would […]
by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer In February, the governors of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, and Delaware voted unanimously to ban fracking in the Delaware River Basin, but Republican-led lawsuits are seeking to stop this action. The ban prevented the natural gas industry from blasting up to 4,000 wells in the basin, serving a blow to the […]
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