The Mountain Valley Pipeline recently submitted an application with the federal government to build a gas compressor station in Montgomery County, called MVP Boost. About 50 residents and community organizers met Monday evening at the Meadowbrook Public Library to discuss the project and how to respond.
There are two deadlines coming up if residents want to submit a comment about the project with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. One is 5 pm Wednesday, Nov. 26, to file a motion to intervene. Filing a motion to intervene is part of the regulatory process, where individuals can become participants in a proceeding and have the right to request rehearing of Commission orders and seek relief of final agency actions in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.
Individuals do not need to be residents of Montgomery County to file this motion.
December 19 is the deadline to submit an official comment on the FERC scoping period for the project. The federal agency has not hosted any public scoping meetings ahead of this deadline.
MVP has also submitted an air pollution permit application with Virginia DEQ for the Swann Compressor Station. The application is not yet available for public comment.
MVP is hosting a meeting Tuesday, December 9th at the Meadowbrook library in Shawsville at 5:30 to answer questions from the public.
MVP explains the project here. In an emailed statement to Radio IQ, MVP spokesperson Shawn Day said "We will hold open house meetings early next month and invite the broader public to attend and learn about the efforts that team members are taking to ensure the safe, responsible construction and operation of this critical energy infrastructure," Day said.
The Virginia-based organization Protect Our Water Heritage Rights is organizing information about MVP Boost and how to submit responses to federal and state agencies. The group, in collaboration with other conservation groups Appalachian Voices, 7 directions of service, and ARTivism, is also planning additional meetings in the coming months for concerned residents, including a zoom meeting Tuesday evening at 7. For more information contact Crystal Mello.
