North Carolina Delivers Blow to Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Project

RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) today denied a key water quality permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate Extension Project. The proposal called for developing a natural gas pipeline from southern Virginia to central North Carolina that would connect to the larger Mountain Valley Pipeline and poses unnecessary risks to local water resources. 

To date, the Mountain Valley Pipeline has agreed to pay over $2 million in penalties due to the more than 300 water quality violations alleged by both Virginia and West Virginia.

A statement follows from Luis Martinez, Director of Southeast Energy at NRDC (Natural Resource Defense Council): 

“The state has made clear that dangerous gas pipelines that threaten rivers, streams, wetlands, and other priceless water resources have no place in North Carolina. Denying this key permit is a decisive victory for water quality, the environment and the health and safety of North Carolinians. This decision demonstrates that North Carolina can and must quit its harmful addiction to dirty fossil fuels. MVP Southgate has always been a bad deal for North Carolinians – it should be shelved for good.”

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The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.​