On October 22, Montgomery County Republican Supervisors narrowly voted to approve an MVP tap (later to become a horribly-polluting compressor station) at the Roanoke/Montgomery County line upstream of Salem and Spring Hollow. Supervisors claimed local benefits, helping justify MVP’s argument for “demand” although RGC (Roanoke Gas) is an MVP subsidiary. FERC permitted MVP without investigating true supply and demand claims. Rates for users will rise once Franklin and Montgomery County taps are activated, then again three years later to cover $1 billion cost overruns. This pipedream exists without revealing who would build infrastructure for sparsely populated areas. Prepare for multi-layered consequences of significantly higher priced energy.
The Roanoke Valley, Salem, Lewis Gale and the VA Hospitals depend on clean, affordable water – not laced with the foul pollution from natural gas operations. Breweries depend on our valuable clean water resource that will now require “mitigation” for sediment and fossil fuel pollution. Deschutes already downsized. Sadly, MVP is harming our valley’s up-and-coming micro-brewery industry. How do we fulfill the potential of our future without reliably clean water? Families and businesses alike need clean water and affordable heating costs.
Our Zombie Bash was a “blast.” Tombstones populated an MVP graveyard of what “dies” with MVP. At the “bash-the-pipeline” station, one enthusiastic woman broke a bat pounding on the simulated MVP. An improv skit recounted MVP’s corrupt history where water-protectors were cheered and industry collaborators booed. Red Terry took the first swipe at the MVP-effigy piñata, broken by Maury Johnson, who strolled in from his Monroe County Farm, (host to outrageous MVP water violations,) using his deer antler pinata-busting pole. The contest: “What was the biggest lie?” recorded prodigious lies told by those helping force MVP on unwilling Virginia citizens.
The only “good” thing to come from MVP is an organized, vibrant undying opposition to a project destroying our environment, water, economy and demonstrating the degradation of our democracy.
– Cynthia Munley, Preserve Salem Facebook organizer