Last month, builders of the Mountain Valley Pipeline reported they hope to complete construction and go in service in early June. But new records from a federal agency reveal there have been over a hundred instances of potential safety risks along the MVP in recent months, according to records released to the Roanoke Times through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Some residents are pushing for more scrutiny over MVP’s safety risks.
Last week, activists gathered to protest the pipeline outside the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality office in Salem, chanting "DEQ do you job!" and "When our land is under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back."
Over 100 people have submitted comments to federal regulators, with concerns about MVP’s plans to go in service soon. 23 Virginia lawmakers and three county governments also submitted letters, asking not to grant authorization until safety can be ensured.
Many point to a 2023 consent order with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which requires MVP to do extra testing.
"There is some comfort in the tests that PHMSA has required them to do on each section of pipe, but we are in a bit of unchartered territory," said Bill Caram, executive director for Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit pipeline watchdog organization that’s raised concerns about MVP for years.
PHMSA provided information to The Roanoke Times through a FOIA request last week. The agency reported there have been 130 instances when pipes along MVP needed to be excavated to do more testing or make repairs.
MVP said in a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in May it will complete all testing to ensure safety before it requests permission from FERC to go in service.
