The Forest Service is seeking public comments relating to a Supplemental Impact Statement that must be approved before the Mountain Valley Pipeline can continue construction on the Jefferson Forest.
The deadline for submission of the contents is Monday, Nov. 9. Comments can be simply entered from a Forest Service web page.
More information and public comments are available at
https://cara.ecosystem-management.org/Public/CommentInput?Project=50036.
The forest service encourages those who post public comments to personalize them.
The service has also issued the following talking points to guide public comments:
IMPACTS TO SOIL HEALTH
Riparian zones, which is land situated near or on the banks of a stream, should be protected because of their unique ability to buffer waterways from sediment and nutrient runoff, stabilize banks, shade and regulate stream temperatures and provide much of the food sources for river ecosystems.
Compacted soils alter root growth, increase runoff and are difficult to mitigate
Allowing clearing and construction of riparian zones in the streamside corridors significantly increases the possibility of continued water quality degradation
Altering the soil structure in the path of the pipeline would cause permanent changes in the way the soil holds water.
WHY OLD-GROWTH FOREST SHOULD BE PROTECTED
There are few old-growth forests left in the Eastern United States. Impacts should thus be considered very seriously.
Old-growth forests are beneficial to us as they are one of the few areas of land where topsoil is created
In old-growth forests, more carbon and nitrogen is retained than in younger forest stands.
Allowing a permanent right-of-way through old-growth forests could harm vulnerable interior forest species by creating edge habitats.
IMPACTS TO SCENIC VIEWSHED STANDARDS
The Special Education Information System (SEIS) is a web-based system that allows centralized, online access for writing IEPs, managing special education data, CALPADS reporting and service tracking. The SEIS minimizes the severity of impacts on public resources.
CALPADS is the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, a longitudinal data system used to maintain individual-level data including student demographics, course data, discipline, assessments, staff assignments and other data for state and federal reporting.
Boring under the trail would negatively impact groundwater supplies.
The listed “minor” temporary adverse effects from noise, dust and visual intrusions are more harmful than summarized.
UTILITY CORRIDORS AND LACK OF NEED
Mountain Valley Pipeline wants to alter amendment FW-248 (utility corridors) of the National Forest Management Act by stating that the economic benefit of the pipeline will balance out the damage done to our national forests.
MVP’s purported need has not surfaced as domestic demand for gas continues to be flat.
This could set a precedent for more unneeded fossil-fuel infrastructure, which could lead to cumulative impacts on the waterways and soils in our national forests.
Additionally, the environmental harm could be greater than what MVP is projecting. To date, improper and inadequate sediment and erosion control practices during construction along the route of the MVP have led to more than 350 water quality violations in Virginia and West Virginia.