Earlier this month, CAAV signed onto a letter to Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring:
Dear Attorney General Herring,
Thank you for standing up to protect our Commonwealth from the current administration’s attempts to erode our democracy and pollute our environment. In July you filed a lawsuit to challenge the current administration’s undermining of the Clean Water Act. Now we need you to protect Virginia’s water and endangered species at risk within our borders by considering taking the following actions:
● Suing the Trump administration for rolling back the protections Congress passed in the Endangered Species Act.
● Providing guidance to the State Water Control Board to add the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) update to their September 24 meeting agenda. The board needs to address MVP’s pollution of Virginia waterways that provide habitat for endangered fish. It is the board’s responsibility to enforce the Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act regulations.
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See the complete letter as a pdf here.
Freeda Cathcart, Leader for the Gas And Pipeline Coalition, who helped organize this effort sent this follow-up on September 21, 2020:
“Thank you for signing onto the letter for AG Mark Herring. Thirty-three organizations signed the letter, representing over 335,000 people!
It’s already bringing results! I received confirmation today that it has been forwarded to the State Water Control Board. Previously the staff at the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality had ignored repeated requests for information about MVP’s continuing pollution of the waterways that are the habitat for endangered fish to be forwarded to the board.
The next step is an easy one thanks to Mothers Out Front’s portal for individuals to be able to send an email directly to the State Water Control Board. It only takes a couple of minutes and people can add to or change the suggested text. Please use this social media post to encourage others to sign and share.
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Working together we will defeat the Mountain Valley Pipeline while protecting our water and endangered species!”
From Mother Out Front – Roanoke and New River Valley:
It’s easy to send an email to the State Water Control Board to demand they protect our water and endangered fish from MVP’s continuing pollution. Just click on this link to a portal that will generate one for you:
http://va.mothersoutfront.org/tell_virginia_department_of_environmental_quality_to_protect_our_water_and_public_health
Climate Action Alliance of the Valley 