The Virginia Marine Resources Commission published a call for public comment and inquiry on the Mountain Valley pipeline in this paper and in five other Virginia newspapers on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
The Roanoke Times, The Danville Register & Bee, The Virginian Leader, and the Franklin News Post, and the News Messenger serve Pittsylvania, Giles, Montgomery, and Franklin Counties where the pipeline will cross state-owned streams.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC is required to post, and pay for, the public notice letting people in those regions know they have 15 days to mail questions and comments to Virginia Marine Resources Commission, Habitat Management Division, 2600 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Newport News, VA 23607.
The pipeline will cross 18 streams that have large enough watersheds to make those streams state-owned, thus requiring VMRC permission to cross.
In addition to the multiple state and federal environmental regulatory agency input, the commission, comprised of 8 governor-appointed commissioners, requires public comment to guide its decision on granting stream-crossing permission.
“It’s like if I want to build a fence and some of my fence is on your land, I have to get permission from you,” Randy Owen, VMRC Environmental Engineer in charge of this project said.
The VMRC is the state agency that regulates what can be done in, on, or around a jurisdictional stream in order to protect water quality, environmental health, and ecosystem system services provided by that stream.
“That’s state property, so the Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC need our permission to cross those streams,” Owen said.