Tag: pipeline

Fur Trapping In W.Va. And A Blue Ribbon Winner, Inside Appalachia

This week on Inside Appalachia, we visit with West Virginia trappers to learn about the fur trade in the 21st Century. We also meet a county fair champion who keeps racking up the blue ribbons and has released a cookbook of some of her favorites. And we hear an update on the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Construction has begun again, but some people wonder if it’s even needed.

This week, we visit with West Virginia trappers to learn about the fur trade in the 21st century.

We also meet a county fair champion who keeps racking up the blue ribbons and has released a cookbook of some of her favorites.

And we hear an update on the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Construction has begun again, but some people wonder if it’s even needed.

These stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

The West Virginia Fur Trade In The 21st Century

Before coal or timber, the fur trade was one of Appalachia’s first industries. 

Fur trapping flourished for centuries, made fortunes and led to wars and was still lucrative into the last few generations.  

Now, most West Virginia fur trappers struggle to earn a living, but some have adapted or found new careers using their particular skills. Folkways Reporter Lauren Griffin brought us the story.

Blue Ribbon-Winning Fair Food

There’s nothing quite like the county fair, where you can pet a goat or get motion sick on the tilt-a-whirl.

A staple of county and state fairs are the annual craft competitions, where the hopeful vie for the coveted blue ribbon.

Few people have been as successful as Russell County, Virginia resident Linda Skeens, who has won hundreds of ribbons, become a social media sensation and released a cookbook featuring some of her winning recipes. 

Producer Bill Lynch spoke with her about winning contests and collecting recipes.

Cruising With Vintage Vehicles 

For over 50 years, in Roanoke, Virginia, on any given Friday night, you can see modified cars and trucks with neon lights, spinning rims and streamlined spoilers strutting from north to south and back again. And often — you’ll see old timey antique cars out there among them.

Host Mason Adams reported this story in 2020, about a family of mechanics who have spent years developing the skills to get those vintage cars just right.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline Saga Continues

We’ve reported on the Mountain Valley Pipeline for years. Completion of the pipeline has been held up because a federal court keeps throwing out its permits. The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled to allow work to resume again. But some energy analysts question whether the pipeline is even needed.

WVPB’s Curtis Tate spoke with Suzanne Mattei of the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis.

Extended Family Pitching In To Care For Dementia Patients

Spouses or adult children typically care for people with dementia, but more and more extended family members are taking on that role. CareEx is a project at the Center for Gerontology at Virginia Tech that studies extended family caregivers in central Appalachia. 

WVPB’s Eric Douglas spoke with project coordinator Brandy McCann about their work.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Sturgill Simpson, Ron Mullennex, Mary Hott and Noam Pikelny.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Maryland Board Votes Against Natural Gas Pipeline Project

A board of high-ranking Maryland officials on Wednesday rejected a proposed pipeline across the western part of the state that would carry natural gas produced in Pennsylvania to West Virginia.

The Board of Public Works voted 3-0 against an easement for TransCanada’s pipeline. It would run under the Potomac River near Hanover, Maryland, and extend 3 miles (4.83 kilometers) from Columbia Gas’ network in Pennsylvania to Mountaineer Gas’ distribution system in West Virginia.

Comptroller Peter Franchot, a Democrat, cited testimony that the pipeline could bring Maryland environmental problems without economic benefits. The board also includes Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, and Treasurer Nancy Kopp, a Democrat.

Environmentalists and residents have been vocal in opposing the pipeline.

“Marylanders and many of their leaders have consistently opposed the threats fracked gas pipelines pose to our health, water, climate, and communities,” said Josh Tulkin, Sierra Club Maryland chapter director.

The board’s vote came after more than 60 lawmakers sent a letter urging board members to reject the proposal. The lawmakers noted that Maryland approved a law, which Hogan signed in 2017, to ban the hydraulic fracturing drilling process known as fracking in Maryland. The process is used to extract natural gas. Maryland was the first state where a legislature voted to bar the practice that actually has natural gas reserves.

“Given that Maryland has banned fracking, it defies our state’s existing energy policy to bring the same public health risks to our residents by way of a pipeline,” the letter said. “Moreover, enabling fossil fuel production runs counter to our state’s goals of increasing renewable energy production.”

The letter, which was sent this week, also noted that the pipeline would affect at least 10 wetlands and 19 streams, in addition to the Potomac River.

While the board delayed a vote on the easement at its last meeting, Hogan said the unanimous vote would have happened without the letter from lawmakers.

“It had nothing to do with any letter from the legislature,” Hogan said at Wednesday’s board meeting.

Anne Havemann, an attorney for Chesapeake Climate Action Network, said she hopes the board’s vote marks an end to the proposal.

“We’ll see if (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) gets involved or the courts get involved, but for now it’s a welcome delay and we hope a permanent end to this pipeline,” Havemann said shortly after the vote.

Following Permit Suspension, Mountain Valley Pipeline Barred from All Water Crossings

A major natural gas pipeline under construction in West Virginia and Virginia cannot continue construction under streams, rivers and wetlands across its entire 303-mile route, following the decision late last week by a federal agency.

In a letter sent Friday, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pittsburgh District told Mountain Valley Pipeline officials they were suspending the project’s water crossings permit, also known as the Nationwide Permit 12, for Wetzel and Harrison counties. 

The decision marks the third suspension or invalidation of the project’s water crossings permits. Earlier this month, a federal court threw out the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s water crossings permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers’ Huntington District, which covered pipeline construction through much of West Virginia.

Three days later, the Army Corps’ Norfolk District in Virginia suspended all water crossings there.

“Friday’s suspension makes clear yet again that the permits hastily given to the fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline don’t stand up to scrutiny,” said Anne Havemann, general counsel at Chesapeake Climate Action Network, in a statement. “Key permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline have been thrown out again and again, confirming that this pipeline — and the similarly destructive Atlantic Coast Pipeline — is too dangerous to ever be built.”

A coalition of environmental groups that oppose the pipeline have asked federal regulators at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a full stop-work order for all pipeline construction. They argue the invalidation of the Army Corps’ water crossings permit means the project lacks full approvals and should be temporarily stopped.

Mountain Valley Pipeline spokeswoman Natalie Cox said in a statement the project expects to receive a new or resissued water crossings permit in early 2019. After that happens, she said the pipeline expects the two suspended permits in West Virginia and Virginia to be reinstated.

Until then, Cox said the pipeline will continue other construction and does not expect the lack of water crossings to affect the pipeline’s projected in-service date of late 2019.

The Army Corps estimates the Mountain Valley Pipeline will be constructed under streams, rivers or wetlands 1,146 times, inclduing 59 stream crossings and 62 wetland crossings in Wetzel and Harrison counties.

Judge Lifts Restraining Order Against Pipeline Protesters

A judge has lifted the restraining order against natural gas pipeline protesters sitting in trees in West Virginia.

News outlets report Judge Robert Irons denied the injunction, reversing course less than two weeks after granting Mountain Valley Pipeline a 10-day restraining order against the protesters.

Mountain Valley Pipeline had sought the order, saying the protest could prevent cutting trees along the pipeline’s path in time to meet a March 31 federal wildlife protection deadline. A licensed surveyor testified the protesters were outside of the no-cut zone and inside the company’s right of way, but the protesters’ attorney, William DePaulo, pointed out mapping inconsistencies.

In his ruling, Irons highlighted concerns over the map data’s accuracy and questioned the urgency to reach a decision over two trees along the 300-mile (480-kilometer) pipeline.

Judge Won't Impose Deadline in Gas Pipeline Suit

A federal judge tells developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline he won’t order all landowners in its West Virginia lawsuit to respond by Dec. 4 to motions for summary judgment for rights of way available under federal regulations.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that U.S. District Judge John Copenhaver at a status conference Thursday said he wants the developers to locate landowners and serve them with court papers.

The pipeline would extend south for 195 miles (315 kilometers) from north-central West Virginia through 11 counties to the Virginia state line, and nearly 110 miles (175 kilometers) through six counties in Virginia.

Pipeline lawyers said in two federal suits that acquiring easements through condemnation is necessary as the developers have been unable to negotiate agreements with about 400 landowners.

West Virginia Withdraws Approval of Mountain Valley Pipeline

West Virginia environmental regulators are rescinding approval for building the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would carry natural gas down the center of West Virginia for 195 miles.

In a letter Thursday, the Department of Environmental Protection said it’s vacating the water quality certification issued in March, which followed review of the projected impact on the state’s waters and public hearings.

“This decision will allow the agency to re-evaluate the complete application to determine whether the state’s certification is in compliance with Section 401 of the federal Clean Water Act,” wrote Scott Mandirola, director of the DEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management.

The pipeline would extend south from north-central West Virginia through 11 counties to the Virginia state line and 108 miles through six counties in that state.

In June, five citizen groups asked a federal appeals court to overturn the state approval.

DEP spokesman Jake Glance says during a review of that appeal, “it was determined that the information used to issue that certification needs to be further evaluated and possibly enhanced.” He said that is being done “out of an abundance of caution.”

According to the main developer, EQT Corp., the project’s estimated cost is $3.5 billion. It would transport “abundant” natural gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations beneath the Appalachians with full service expected in late 2018, provided it gets needed approvals.

EQT also has an application pending for approval by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The company did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Friday.

Angie Rosser, executive director of the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, said environmental groups have been asking the DEP to take a closer look at the more than 600 streams affected by the massive project from the beginning.

“The fracked gas Mountain Valley Pipeline is dirty, dangerous and needlessly endangers West Virginia’s waterways, wilderness, and communities and it should be rejected,” said Justin Raines, from the West Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club, another organization that joined in the federal appeal. “This project should never have been approved in the first place, and we hope this pipeline now receives the scrutiny it deserves.”

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