ENERGY + ENVIRONMENT
Mountain Valley Pipeline construction halted
A week after a federal appeals court in Richmond struck down a permit that allowed the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross U.S. Forest Service land, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has ordered a halt to work on the entire project. “MVP is hereby notified that construction activity along all portions of the project and in […]
Dominion files for approval of offshore wind pilot project
Dominion Energy has filed an application with the State Corporation Commission for approval of a long-anticipated pilot offshore wind project. The company, which announced last summer that it would move forward with the project after letting a $40 million federal grant for offshore wind lapse the year before, seeks permission to build a two 6-megawatt […]
In Buckingham’s Union Hill, a center of resistance for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Dominion brings in a ringer
BUCKINGHAM — The sermon came from Ezekiel 33:7. “I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me,” the verse reads. And, from the pulpit at Union Hill Baptist Church during a Sunday service last month, Pastor Paul Wilson was fully […]
Federal court upholds Virginia’s water-quality review for Mountain Valley Pipeline
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond has upheld Virginia’s much-criticized water quality review for Mountain Valley Pipeline, one of two large natural gas pipeline projects proceeding in the state. The panel of judges rejected arguments from the Sierra Club and other organizations that the State Water Control Board incorrectly found […]
Photos: Mountain Valley Pipeline construction in full swing
Ongoing legal fights and permitting questions aside, construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in Virginia is in full swing. Hundreds of workers have flooded into the state to clear trees and install massive sections of 42-inch pipe. These photos show the state of construction in Montgomery County, where workers are still in the process of […]
Federal appeals court vacates Mountain Valley Pipeline approvals
In a significant victory for environmental groups and other opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond has vacated approvals that allowed the 300-mile natural gas pipeline, which is currently under construction, to cross the Jefferson National Forest near the Virginia-West Virginia border. In response to […]
Chesapeake Bay clean-up: Pennsylvania lagging in reducing pollution
The federal Environmental Protection Agency issued a largely positive assessment Friday of efforts to stem the flow of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution into the Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. Cutting those pollutants from farms, sewage treatment plants and municipal and suburban stormwater systems has been key to the recovery of the […]
State lawmakers again urge Northam to act on pipelines
With a crucial meeting of the State Water Control Board looming next month on water-quality reviews for a pair of contentious natural gas pipelines, Democratic state lawmakers again urged Gov. Ralph Northam Thursday to halt the projects and insist on a stream-by-stream review of the hundreds of spots where they will cross Virginia waterways. “We […]
Blocked by-law proposals at Virginia’s largest electric cooperative prompt complaint to state regulators
Members of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, Virginia’s largest co-op, have filed a petition with the State Corporation Commission in an effort to force a vote on more transparency at the organization, which provides electricity to more than 160,000 member owners in parts of 22 Virginia counties. Behind the petition —which seeks an injunction from regulators at […]
State picks firm to help guide offshore wind development
The Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy has picked a London-based renewable energy consulting firm to help position Virginia to become a hub for the “offshore wind supply chain and service industry,” Gov. Ralph Northam’s office announced. BVG Associates will “build on Virginia’s advantages and opportunities as well as provide recommendations to further enhance the commonwealth’s […]
Atlantic Coast Pipeline gets permission to begin North Carolina construction
The 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the more than $6 billion natural gas project led by Dominion Energy, won approval to begin full construction in North Carolina today. The decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission comes amid a federal court challenge that seeks to halt construction of the hotly contested pipeline following a ruling by […]
Cumberland landfill, fiercely opposed by locals, would be state’s first new mega dump in two decades
CUMBERLAND COUNTY — A Virginia political issue largely consigned to the dust heap of history in the late 1990s resurfaced this June when the Cumberland County Board of Supervisors voted to allow plans to go forward for the construction of a mega-landfill just a mile from the Cumberland–Powhatan border. If the company behind the project, […]