West Virginia Fines Pipeline Builder $266K for Environmental Violations
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection and Mountain Valley Pipeline have agreed the latter will pay $266,000 for environmental violations dating back to April 2018.
The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports the consent agreement dated April 19 was made public last week.
MVP has received at least 20 notices of violations in several counties over the past year for issues including erosion and water contamination, which residents have expressed concern about since the pipeline’s inception. Many of the violations were reported by citizens.
The pipeline’s initial estimated cost of $3.7 billion has jumped up to $4.6 billion since it was approved. The 300-mile (483-kilometer) pipeline is also being built in Virginia and was expected to be completed by this winter. It’s unclear if it the project will be done by then.