I am writing in opposition to the proposed plan of action outlined in the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement issued by the Jefferson National Forest.
This is a question of principle: will we amend a plan that has been operating since 2004 for one specific project? This project will likely suffer the same fate as the failed ACP project, and we should not be altering the stipulations of public land use in order to accommodate a dying industry.
Additionally, MVP has not demonstrated that they can hold true to guidelines set. After several years, MVP has accumulated hundreds of violations of the permits it did obtain, and we do not want to see our public lands suffer the same fate. MVP will have to continue to fight these ongoing multiple legal battles from all sides. This, coupled with the lack of need, lack of economic viability, and lack of completion of almost half of the project, shows that an extension is simply delaying the inevitable failure of the project.
Biding time within a climate emergency is a doomed endeavor. This pipeline is a detriment to our public lands, and simultaneously a false solution to our energy needs. I urge you to not follow the proposed plan of action, and instead advocate for adopting a no action plan and denying the Right-Of-Way.
