UPDATE: Thursday, Dec. 21, 2023 – 11:55 a.m. EST: The MVP, through spokesperson Natalie Cox, has belatedly answered questions asked of them for this article. Those answers are found in the third and fourth paragraphs and below the bullet points under the final photo of the MVP ROW. The headline has been changed to reflect the response from the MVP and references to the MVP not responding have been removed. Those answers from Ms. Cox were received via email today. — MB.

BIG ISAAC, W.Va. – In the dark hours on or about November 18, a number of residents living here reported hearing a “roar.” Another resident said of the incident, “I thought it was an earthquake.” The source of the sound was beyond question for those that heard it – the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Right-of-Way (ROW) that forms a semicircle about 500 feet up the steep ridges around this tiny farming community.

It wasn’t long after that, said resident Justin McClain, that the MVP started rolling in equipment from all directions, even lighting up the night sky on the ridges above to address whatever happened.

Natalie Cox, spokesperson for the MVP, replied via email on Dec. 21, after this article was first published. She wrote, “The ‘regrading’ and ‘reseeding’ activities are, indeed, standard elements of final restoration work for any infrastructure project. Much of this work has already been completed along MVP’s 303-mile route (roughly 187 miles restored as of 12/7/23).Please see the MVP project website for additional construction status information: https://www.mountainvalleypipeline.info/.”

“As FERC has acknowledged, completing construction, finalizing permanent right-of-way restoration, and placing the pipeline in service is best for the environment and for landowners on the pipeline’s right-of-way whose property has been disrupted for an extended period.”

Drone footage taken in early December reveals an extensive repair of hundreds of yards of the MVP ROW. It has been regraded and reseeded since West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) Inspector Timothy Wine took a photo of the ROW on September 13. His photo (below) was taken in response to a complaint about flood damage from a September 9 storm likely caused by the MVP.

Below are several recent images of the same area and beyond that which have recently been regraded and reseeded.

Local residents have asked Project Manager Joseph Klein, Project Manager for the Eastern Region (ER) of the Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to investigate the matter. He responded on Dec. 18 in an email. The scope of the reseeding is notable in light of his explanation. He said that a repair had been necessary for 15 feet of pipe “… in proximity to provided coordinates.” The coordinates provided were for Dry Fork Road (County Rt. 27), which the MVP uses as its access road, just above Big Isaac. However, an on-site inspection was not conducted; rather, only paperwork was reviewed.

Klein wrote, “PHMSA ER had an inspector visit the Spread B construction office on 12/7/23 in response to your inquiry. Review of construction and test records noted the following:

• “No evidence alluding to a pipe leak or rupture during any hydrostatic testing performed on Spread B. 
• “An internal in-line caliper inspection tool which utilizes compressed air to propel it was performed on 11/17/2023
• “On 11/18/2023, 50 psi of mainline air was blowdown to atmosphere in proximity to provided coordinates.
• “On 11/21/2023, there was a blowdown of hydrotest Test Section A4 at Turtle Tree Road.
• “On 11/26/2023, an imperfection identified by the ILI caliper tool run was repaired via replacement of 14.9 feet of pipe in proximity to provided coordinates.”

Cox wrote, “Each of the items/actions which you listed are standard activities for any pipeline project preparing for completion and in-service operation.”

While any response from the MVP is encouraging, some questions remain. Why doesn’t the MVP alert residents of such events in advance? Or why not the local Office of Emergency Services (OES)? Why did PHMSA not conduct an on-site examination? Equipment was seen as recently as December 4 lining the county road and MVP ROW. Why did crews work around the clock into early December, disturbing local residents? Is the MVP willing to release photos of other areas similarly regraded and reseeded? These are questions, among others, that I will likely be asking in due course, after I complete additional research and consult again with experts not employed by the MVP.

Presently, the most important question is if emergency officials are ready to respond to an emergent event caused by the MVP. Local residents and emergency officials have known about the MVP since 2014. Certainly, especially now that the MVP has been expedited, the lack of transparency from the county about whether or not it has emergency plans in place for the MVP is a tragedy waiting to happen. Justin McClain observed, “There’s no telling what they’ve done up there, but the ridge looked like a movie set at night. We’re just holding our breath. It’s only a matter of time until rivers of water will wash down these hillsides and flood our home.”

The pipeline is clearly a hazard. Lacking greater oversight, the MVP will continue to destroy lives and land through its thoroughly exposed bullying tactics and abuse of eminent domain.

© Michael M. Barrick, 2023. To learn more about the abuse of eminent domain, the MVP and fracking, take a moment to check out my book, “Fractured Sanctuary: A Chronicle of Grassroots Activists Fighting Pipelines of Destruction in Appalachia.” Any revenues from book sales are used to continue this reporting.