Tag: Water Crossings

W.Va. DEP Changes State-Imposed Regs for Stream Crossing Permits

West Virginia environmental regulators have changed some state-imposed conditions to a federal permit issued for stream crossings for natural gas pipelines approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In a letter sent to federal regulators last week, West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) officials submitted a series of changes to the state-imposed conditions for the Nationwide Permit 12.

The changes include the removal of a 72-hour time restriction for construction of interstate natural gas pipelines under waterways in certain cases.

To cross under streams, rivers and wetlands, major pipeline projects need a permit from the Army Corps under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. The permits detail how much sediment or debris can end up in waterways during construction of interstate pipelines, but also dams, levees and major highway projects.

The Nationwide Permit 12 is one Section 404 permit. It is used to authorize utility line construction as well as to authorize the building of natural gas pipelines.

Under federal law, states can add special conditions to those permits. WVDEP began the process of updating West Virginia’s 401 Water Quality Certification standard and special conditions in August 2018.

The WVDEP previously required interstate pipelines must be built under major rivers within 72 hours.

This caused problems for the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline. Last year, a federal court threw out the project’s Section 404 permit after environmental groups argued pipeline developers’ own planning documents showed they couldn’t meet that 72-hour waterway crossing deadline. Currently, the project is awaiting new Section 404 permits and can’t do construction under waterways.

The new modifications clarify that stream crossing methods that are done when streams are flowing must be completed within 72 hours, but that stream crossings where waterways are damned, also called the “dry ditch” method, are exempt from the 72-hour requirement.

Construction and access bridges and crossings on Section 10 rivers are also exempt from the 72-hour requirements, the letter states.

Pipeline activist group, Appalachians Against Pipelines, launched a demonstration due in-part to the changes to the permitting scheme.

Last Thursday, 22-year-old Holden Dometrius locked himself to welding equipment at a Mountain Valley Pipeline construction site near Lindside, which caused work to stop, the group said in a news release. 

A representative for the group said the action and signs Dometrius held, which read “To hell with your permits” and “No borders, no prisons, no pipelines on stolen land” were in reference to disapproval with all permits issued to the project, including WVDEP’s recent changes to the Section 401 Water Quality Certification.

The changes are subject to review by both the Army Corps and U.S. EPA.

Clarification: This story was updated on 5/1/2019 to clarify that the changes made by the WVDEP were only made to the Nationwide Permit 12.

 

West Virginia DEP Proposes Changes to Stream Crossing Permit

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection is reconsidering how it permits stream crossings for natural gas pipelines and other federal projects approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

In a notice published this week, the agency announced a set of proposed changes to West Virginia’s 401 Water Quality Certification specifically for federal water permits issued by the Army Corps, which accounts for the majority of certification requests.

 

The 401 certification contains state-specific conditions that must be met in order to meet the state’s water quality standards before a permit or license is issued by the federal agency.

Under federal law, sediment or debris cannot be released into streams, rivers or wetlands, unless the Army Corps issues a permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. These permits are required for dam, levee, and highway constructions, as well as mining projects and other large developments that require federal approvals to discharge fill material into waterways.  

 

Interstate natural gas pipelines, such as the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast pipelines being developed through parts of West Virginia, also require permitting by the Army Corps.

WV DEP’s proposed changes to its water quality certification include striking a provision that requires water crossings, or construction that goes under or disturbs stream, rivers or wetlands to be completed within 72 hours.

That requirement was at the heart of a recent ruling made by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court in June sided with a coalition of conservation groups who argued the federal Section 404 permit granted to the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) should be invalidated because the pipeline developers’ planning documents showed it could not complete some water crossings in the 72-hour time frame required by the state.

The federal appeals court agreed and stayed water crossings by the MVP in West Virginia on June 21. Since then, all construction of the 303-mile pipeline has been halted following a July 27 ruling by the 4th Circuit to invalidate two federal permits related to the pipeline route through Jefferson National Forest.

Other proposed changes in the 17-page order include a provision that would allow a stream crossing method that is more environmentally protective than currently allowed.

The order also gives the head of DEP the power to “waive, change, or eliminate” any of the conditions set out under the 401 Water Quality Certification if the project can provide proof “that it will employ a method or plan that will be more environmentally protective.”

The DEP is currently accepting comments on the proposed changes.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Permit Under Fire from Environmental Advocates

Environmental advocates asked a federal court Tuesday to review a federal permit for the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Appalachian Mountain Advocates, a law firm representing a coalition of environmental and citizen groups, filed a petition with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The groups, which include the Sierra Club, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, Appalachian Voices and the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, are asking the court to review a federal permit issued by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The Nationwide Permit 12, which falls under Section 404 of the federal Clean Water Act, sets out how the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) must be built through streams and wetlands in West Virginia.

In a letter sent last month to Army Corps’ Huntington District, the groups argue the pipeline developer has admitted it cannot cross parts of the Greenbrier, West Fork and Buckhannon rivers in the 72-hour time frame mandated by the permit, and thus its Nationwide Permit 12 should be revoked.

The request comes days after the 4th Circuit stayed the same permit issued to the Mountain Valley Pipeline for failing to complete construction quickly enough.

Once completed, the 600-mile, 42-inch ACP pipeline will bring natural gas from West Virginia through Virginia to North Carolina. The ACP is being jointly developed by Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and Southern Company Gas.

A spokesperson for the ACP could not be reached for comment.

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