The recent State Air Pollution Control Board (APCB) hearing in Chatham exposed MVP’s lack of preparedness and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s lack of providing appropriate guidance for MVP Southgate to be successful. The board members questioned the specs for MVP Southgate which included gas-powered turbines. A nearby Transco pipeline upgraded their compressor station to use electric turbines, resulting in less harmful emissions. Electric turbines should have been included in the plans for Southgate.
The board interacted with environmental lawyers. They wanted to know why the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out an air board permit for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). The ACP permit was thrown out because of federal environmental justice laws that are still in effect. DEQ should have warned MVP of the problem and required a solution before submitting a recommendation to the APCB to issue a permit.
The DEQ’s recommendation to the APCB to issue the MVP Southgate permit without requiring electric turbines demonstrates that the DEQ is not diligent in issuing permits.
– Nora Smith