The following regulatory tools provide comprehensive oversight and technical evaluation processes to ensure that Virginia’s air and water quality is protected during and after construction.
- Environmental impact review
DEQ, along with Virginia’s other natural resource agencies, submitted numerous comments and recommendations on the draft environmental impact statements published by FERC. In this environmental impact review, Virginia identified specific concerns in a number of stream segments that crossed watersheds. Recommendations included additional pre- and post-construction water quality monitoring, heightened erosion and sedimentation control practices, and pre-impact characterization of proposed stream and wetland crossings.
- Stormwater, erosion and sediment control
DEQ required Mountain Valley to submit detailed, project-specific erosion and sedimentation control and stormwater plans for every foot of pipeline construction land disturbance, including access roads. These plans must comply with Virginia’s stormwater and erosion, and sediment control regulations, designed to protect water quality during and after construction. The project plans were reviewed by certified professionals and were posted for public review in October 2017. The cost of this work is paid by the developer and is estimated to be approximately $2.2 million.
- Federal wetlands and stream regulation
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is the federal regulatory partner in permitting activities in wetlands and streams. The Corps’ Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 requires that water quality is protected during the construction of pipelines in wetlands and streams. The Corps evaluated each wetland and stream crossing to see if construction is consistent with the conditions of NWP 12. The conditions provided in NWP 12 are comprehensive and include: coordination with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on threatened and endangered species; requirements to restore the pre-construction conditions at stream crossings using materials that mimic the natural stream bed; mitigation for all permanent loss over 1/10 acre and/or 300 linear feet of waters; a recommendation discouraging directional drilling in karst topography; a recommendation to use Virginia native species for revegetation; and extensive guidance and requirements for countersinking pipes. Because the Corps’ permit only covers construction activities that cross a wetland or stream, DEQ addressed other water quality impacts through its water certification authority.
Note: DEQ received a new application for construction in wetlands and streams on March 1, 2021 (see Virginia Water Protection Permit section). The State Water Control Board authorized DEQ to issue a permit on December 14, 2021. The VWP permit was issued on December 20, 2021.
- Virginia water quality certification
DEQ required water quality certification conditions for all potentially impacted water resources related to activities that might affect water quality outside the temporary construction impacts to stream and wetland crossings. These conditions provide reasonable assurance that water quality standards are maintained in Virginia’s streams. DEQ received public input in 2017 during two public hearings on the draft prior to issuance of the signed certification.
DEQ is conducting its own water quality monitoring to evaluate water quality conditions at a number of locations. Real-time water monitoring stations have been installed at six crossings along the route and sampling results are being published.
Legislation adopted by the 2018 General Assembly authorizes DEQ to issue a stop work instruction for land-disturbing activities related to the construction of a natural gas transmission pipeline under certain situations (2018 VA Acts chapters 297 and 298). DEQ may issue a stop work instruction on part of a site if the agency determines there has been a substantial adverse impact to water quality or that an imminent and substantial adverse impact to water quality is likely as a result of such land-disturbing activities. The stop work instructions are a temporary measure to correct deficiencies before resuming work. The agency has developed guidance that details the stop work instruction process.
