Tag: Jefferson National Forest

Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction Can Proceed, Federal Agency Says

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline has been in legal limbo, facing court challenges from environmental groups and landowners.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline has permission from federal regulators to finish the project.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden signed a bill to raise the nation’s borrowing limit that also approved any remaining permits needed to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The 300-mile natural gas pipeline has been in legal limbo, facing court challenges from environmental groups and landowners.

On Wednesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized construction to resume on a segment through the Jefferson National Forest on the West Virginia-Virginia border.

It also cleared other remaining segments where the pipeline crosses waterways to proceed.

The project is a top priority for both of West Virginia’s U.S. senators, who’d made multiple attempts to include it in legislation.

Granholm Letter Supports Fast Approvals For Mountain Valley Pipeline

The 300-mile pipeline would transport 2 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas from northern West Virginia to the mid-Atlantic.

A natural gas pipeline under construction in Appalachia got the thumbs up from a Biden administration official.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm wrote to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last week in support of fast approval on any further action on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

The 300-mile pipeline would transport 2 billion cubic feet a day of natural gas from northern West Virginia to the mid-Atlantic.

It’s currently held up in federal court. The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down some key permits, though a recent decision from the U.S. Forest Service could enable the pipeline to cross the Jefferson National Forest.

Environmental groups oppose the pipeline because of its impact on rivers and streams, as well as the planet-warming emissions from producing and consuming the fossil fuel.

In her letter, Granholm said the pipeline could play an important role in the clean energy transition as well as support reliability in the electric grid.

“As extreme weather events continue to strain the U.S. energy system, adequate pipeline and transmission capacity is critical to maintaining energy reliability, availability, and security,” she wrote.

The pipeline is a top-ticket item for state leaders, including Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va.. In addition to environmental groups, the West Virginia Coal Association opposes the pipeline.

If the pipeline is completed, Duke Energy plans to switch from coal to natural gas at its power plants in North Carolina. Much of the coal they currently use comes from West Virginia.

Mountain Valley Pipeline Gets Approval To Cross Jefferson National Forest

It’s a critical link for the 300-mile pipeline, which is a priority for state leaders but is opposed by environmental groups.

For the third time, the U.S. Forest Service has given a green light for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross the Jefferson National Forest near the border between West Virginia and Virginia.

It’s a critical link for the 300-mile pipeline, which is a priority for state leaders but is opposed by environmental groups.

Its opponents have been successful in stalling the pipeline. Earlier this month, a federal appeals court voided the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s clean water certification.

Another pipeline opponent: The West Virginia Coal Association. If it is completed, the pipeline would supply natural gas to Duke Energy power plants in North Carolina, at the expense of coal that currently comes from West Virginia.

Efforts by lawmakers, including U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., to speed up the permitting process for the pipeline have not advanced.

Federal Court Voids Mountain Valley Pipeline Stream Permit From DEP

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has voided the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s clean water certification for the project.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline has been dealt another setback in federal court.

The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has voided the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s clean water certification for the project.

The builders of the 300-mile natural gas pipeline will have to start over. It needs the permission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to cross streams and wetlands, and it cannot receive that without the DEP’s certification.

The project is behind schedule in part due to multiple legal setbacks.

It lacks authorization from the U.S. Forest Service to cross the Jefferson National Forest on the border between West Virginia and Virginia because of an earlier ruling from the Fourth Circuit.

The pipeline is a top priority for state leaders, including U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.

Last month, Republican U.S. Rep. Carol Miller introduced a bill in the House of Representatives to finish the pipeline.

Mountain Valley Pipeline To Get New U.S. Forest Service Review

The project needs the permit to cross the George Washington and Jefferson national forests.

The U.S. Forest Service said Thursday that a draft supplemental environmental impact statement will be ready in January for the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

There will be a 45-day public comment period, with a final draft expected by next summer.

The project needs the permit to cross the George Washington and Jefferson national forests.

Environmental groups have succeeded in stopping the previously issued permits by going to the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

The roughly 300-mile natural gas pipeline is a priority for U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. He’s trying to get expedited permitting for the project passed in the lame-duck session of Congress after an earlier attempt failed.

April 21, 1936: President Roosevelt Establishes Jefferson National Forest

On April 21, 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Jefferson National Forest, located primarily in southwest Virginia and southeast West Virginia. It covers more than 18,000 acres in Monroe County, is part of the New River Valley and New Castle Ranger Districts, and is accessible from State Routes 15, 17, and 20. Oak-pine forests cover the forest lands, which range in elevation from 2,000 to 3,600 feet.

The main reason for creating the national forest was to prevent fires—a common occurrence due to the over-foresting of trees. Over the last 80 years, the Jefferson National Forest has thrived and incorporates many resources, including wood, water, wildlife, recreation, and livestock forage. In 2010, all caves and abandoned mines in the forest were closed to control the spread of white-nose disease among bats.

Jefferson is one of our state’s three national forests, along with the George Washington National Forest and Monogahela National Forest. Most of our country’s 155 national forests are found in the West. Only 12 percent of national forest land, including the Jefferson and Washington, is located east of the Mississippi. 

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