The undersigned individuals urge the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to deny Mountain Valley Pipeline’s request for a 401 water quality certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate project. This project would permanently harm waterways and wetlands, and Mountain Valley Pipeline cannot be trusted to protect impacted water bodies given its track record in other states.

MVP Southgate would cross or impact fifty North Carolina waterbodies, including the Dan River, Cascade Creek, Dry Creek, Rock Creek, and thirty-six wetlands. Pipeline construction can cause increased sediment levels in nearby waterways and pose a threat to water quality and harm fish and other species. The Dan River is home to several federally protected species, including: the James spinymussel; the Roanoke logperch; the Atlantic Pigtoe and its critical habitat; and the Green Floater and its proposed critical habitat. Cascade Creek also provides habitat for the Roanoke logperch.

Ten of the thirty-six wetlands MVP has proposed to cross would face permanent impacts spanning nearly three acres. Wetlands are one of the most productive ecosystems in the world and provide valuable habitat for animals and plants and protect communities from flooding.

MVP plans to use a dry-ditch, open-cut crossing method for the majority of stream crossings. This method entails diverting the water flow around the crossing site and subsequently trenching or blasting a ditch to lay the pipe. This crossing tactic is more likely to cause sediment releases than trenchless crossings. Increased sediment can occur during installation, removal, or maintenance failures of isolation structures. For instance, during construction of the WB Express Pipeline in West Virginia, a structure failure resulted in increased sediment levels that were observed nineteen miles downstream and violated the state’s water quality standards. The scientific literature reports that high sediment levels can remain in waterways for more than four years.

The Dan River has already suffered adverse impacts from energy infrastructure, including the 2014 Duke Energy Dan River coal ash disaster, where 39,000 tons of coal ash and 27 million gallons of ash pond water spilled into the river. The Dan River serves as a drinking water source for surrounding communities. Southgate’s proposed crossing of several tributaries to the Dan River, including Cascade Creek and Dry Creek, could lead to downstream impacts to the river and further jeopardize the river’s health, ecological stability, and access to clean drinking water for residents.

During construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline mainline project in West Virginia and Virginia, the developers received hundreds of water quality-related violations from state and federal regulators and were issued over $3 million in fines.,, Documentation of waterways crossed by the pipeline showed that 94% of water bodies experienced adverse impacts after construction. From September to November of 2023, inspectors discovered inadequate erosion controls and adverse impacts to wetlands. Mountain Valley Pipeline's consistent track record of violations shows that the company cannot be counted on to avoid negative impacts to surrounding waterways and communities. Therefore, every aspect of the MVP Southgate Project should be scrutinized.

Within one mile of MVP Southgate's route, there are five different plant species with state-level protections, including the threatened Carolina Birdfoot-Trefoil and the threatened Smooth Coneflower. Migratory bird populations also reside in proximity to the project area, including the Chimney Swift and Prothonotary Warbler, which are Birds of Conservation Concern and are experiencing population decline or other threats, therefore representing high conservation priorities. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surveys demonstrated that there are likely Bald Eagles present in the proposed project area.

We request that the NCDEQ protect the streams, wetlands, endangered and threatened species, and communities that are at risk due to the proposed MVP Southgate project. Please deny Mountain Valley Pipeline's request for a 401 water quality certification.

Thank you for your time and consideration.