PUBLIC NOTICE
Publication Date: May 12, 2021
Expiration Date: 30 Days After Date of Publication
TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:
State Water Quality Certification, as required by Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, has been
requested of the West Virginia Department of
Environmental Protection (WVDEP) for:
Mountain Valley Pipeline Project
(Name of Project)
_Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC. 2200 Energy Drive, Canonsburg, PA 15317
(Name and address of Applicant)
SCOPE OF CERTIFICATION: Pursuant to Section
401 of the Federal Clean Water Act, the State may,
either certify, certify with conditions, deny or waive
certification that the proposed activity will comply
with Sections 301, 302, 303, 306 and 307 of the
Federal Clean Water Act and other appropriate
requirements of State law. When issuing
certification, the WVDEP may consider the
proposed activity’s impact on water resources, fish
and wildlife, recreation, critical habitats, wetlands
and other natural resources under its jurisdiction.
Procedural and interpretive regulations governing
the scope of the Department’s certification, public
comment, hearings and appeals are in Title 47,
Series 5A.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTIVITY: Provide a
description which details the activity proposed for
the wetland, river or stream to be affected.
Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (Mountain Valley) has
proposed to construct the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Project (Project), a natural gas pipeline that is
approximately 304 miles in length and is 42-inches in
diameter – traversing 11 counties in West Virginia and
six counties in Virginia. The design objective of the
project is to provide timely, cost-effective access to the
growing demand for natural gas for use by local
distribution companies, industrial users, and power
generation facilities in the mid-Atlantic, southeastern,
and Appalachian regions. The proposed project route
would begin at the existing Equitrans, LP transmission
system near the Mobley processing facility in Wetzel
County, West Virginia and extend to the Transco Zone 5
Compressor Station 165 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
In addition to the pipeline itself, the project would
nclude three compressor stations facilities, which have
been completed along the route in West Virginia, as well
as other ancillary facilities that are required for the safe
and reliable operation of the pipeline.
While significant efforts were made to avoid wetlands
and streams along the entire route, in select
circumstances there are environmental effects that are
deemed unavoidable. In West Virginia, the proposed
project route would consist of approximately 197 miles
of pipeline, which is roughly 65% of the total pipeline
route, and three compressor stations. The Mountain
Valley project team has proposed to utilize a
125-feet-wide temporary right-of-way to safely construct
the pipeline and a 50-feet-wide permanent right-of-way
in order to properly maintain and safely operate the
pipeline once in-service. Due to the various constraints
of siting and constructing, Mountain Valley anticipates
that the project will have temporary impacts to
approximately 21,107 linear feet of streams and 10.2
acres of wetlands in West Virginia during the
construction phase. Given the size and scope of the
project throughout the state, it is estimated that
approximately 1,116 linear feet of streams and 2.2 acres
of wetlands would be permanently impacted in West
Virginia. Mountain Valley proposes to mitigate all
proposed permanent stream and wetland impacts (lost
or converted) through the use of mitigation bank credits,
including 691 stream mitigation credits and 2.2 wetland
mitigation credits in West Virginia.
It is anticipated that the Project will have the following:
The designated use of all streams proposed for crossing
are:
¯ Category A – Water Supply
¯ Category B – Propagation and Maintenance of Fish/Other Aquatic Life
¯ Category C – Water Contact Recreation
The designated use for wetlands proposed for crossings (this includes resources that are crossed more than once) are:
¯ Category B-4 – Wetlands: 260 crossings
Any other State issued permit numbers, if
applicable and available:
Construction Stormwater General Permit for
Construction Activities (WVR310667); Clean Air Permits
(R13-3277A; R13-3278A; and R13-3279A) Licenses
and Right of Entry (multiple approvals); Road Bonds
and Crossing Permits (multiple approvals); NPDES
Hydrostatic Test Discharge General Permit (multiple
approvals).
PROJECT LOCATION: Provide a general highway
map showing location of project and include mile
point for rivers and streams.
Coordinates for the northern terminus of the project in
West Virginia are: 39.562409* N, -80.543079* W
Coordinates for the project crossing from West Virginia
to Virginia are: 37.402653*N, -80.690013*W
Coordinates for the southern terminus of the project in
Virginia are: 36.833466*N, -79.337119*W
INFORMATION AVAILABLE: The Water Quality
Certification application is available for inspection
between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, at the following location:
WV Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Water and Waste Management
401 Certification Program
601 57th Street SE
Charleston, West Virginia 25304
Upon request a digital copy of the application and
applicable information can be provided.
COMMENTS: Comments and information relating to
Section 401 Water Quality Certification for this
activity are hereby solicited. Such information on
the activity’s impact will be considered if
postmarked prior to the expiration date of this
notice.
This Public Notice also includes notice for the
Public Hearing that will be held as a virtual Zoom meeting on June 22, 2021 at 6:00 PM EDT at the
following virtual location:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89841876081?pwd=dTBQ
V3FHdlh4VU9UZ3IxRk1HLzl2Zz09.
Or by phone at 1-646-558-8656, Meeting ID: 898 4187 6081 Passcode: 765886
All comments and information should be mailed to:
WV Department of Environmental Protection
Division of Water and Waste Management
401 Certification Program
601 57th Street SE
Charleston, West Virginia 25304
Comments and information postmarked later than
the expiration date may not be considered.
WV Press EPA Division Water and Waste
Management
WC 05/12 5/19 14887