"Monroe Speaks!" - FREE Movie Screening
Presented by International Award Winner
Marino Colmano of Lucid Media
with production assistance by Monroe's own
Paula Mann of Oliver Photography
Learn More: www.pipelinedocumentary.com

roma★
Misplaced Lens Cap
Show & Tell

No title available
Cosmic Funnies

Love Begins
hello vonnie
PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
styofa doing anything
Peter Solarz

tannertan36
Jules of Nature
Keni

Discoholic 🪩

Kiana Khansmith
No title available
$LAYYYTER
Game of Thrones Daily
NASA
he wasn't even looking at me and he found me
seen from Türkiye
seen from Brazil

seen from United States

seen from United Kingdom

seen from Malaysia
seen from Brazil

seen from Germany

seen from Türkiye
seen from United States

seen from United States

seen from United States
seen from France
seen from Brazil
seen from Mexico

seen from China

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@preservemonroe
"Monroe Speaks!" - FREE Movie Screening
Presented by International Award Winner
Marino Colmano of Lucid Media
with production assistance by Monroe's own
Paula Mann of Oliver Photography
Learn More: www.pipelinedocumentary.com
"Monroe Speaks!" - FREE Movie Screening
Presented by International Award Winner
Marino Colmano of Lucid Media
with production assistance by Monroe's own
Paula Mann of Oliver Photography
Learn More: www.pipelinedocumentary.com
Directions to Hands Across Our Land Event TODAY!
We hope you and your friends and family can make it RAIN OR SHINE TODAY for#HandsAcrossOurLand Signs leading you to the venue will be out by 11:30 So come enjoy the afternoon. Signs at Jct of Rt 12 and Rt 122 in Forest Hill, leading you to the venue and also at Jct of Pine Grove Road and Blue Lick Rd. Or feel free to meet us for carpools to the venue. Find further details on our event page here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1477840392538125/ Can't make it to our event because of work, school, or other obligations? Join us digitally from wherever you are! Find more details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1487661651546486/ Participants from across the country will be standing together in solidarity today against#Fracking and #FrackedGasPipelines! Please show your support, and join residents of WV, VA, MD, OH, PA, NY, OR, NC, and beyond!
A judge says the developer of a proposed natural gas pipeline can't survey a West Virginia couple's property without their permission.
MOUNTAIN VALLEY PIPELINE - No Trespassing/No Surveying - H E A R I N G R E P O R T
Hearing held at the Union Courthouse
on Wednesday, August 5th at 10 am Monroe County Circuit Judge Robert Irons ruled in favor of Monroe County Landowners at the Preliminary Injunction Hearing which took place in the Union Courthouse on Wednesday.
A full house audience of residents from Monroe, Summers, Greenbrier and other counties along the proposed pipeline corridors followed the 3 hour long hearing attentively.
The audience clapped in appreciation when Judge Irons delivered his decision to grant the injunction sought by Doris and Bryan McCurdy to bar surveyors for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project from entering their property in Greenville without their permission.
Preserve Monroe would like to express heartfelt thanks to Doris and Bryan McCurdy for their courage in standing up for landlowners rights to the ongoing use and enjoyment of their property.
Preserve Monroe would also like to express its gratitude and appreciation to Senior Attorney Derek Teaney of the Appalachian Mountain Advocates (APALMAD) law firm in Lewisburg for his impeccable presentation of pertinent facts and case histories of WV eminent domain law in support of the plaintiff's motion that the developers of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) have failed to demonstrate that the pipeline will serve a public use for the people of West Virginia.
Despite attempts by the MVP defense lawyer Charles Piccirillo to make public use a non-issue in this hearing, the McCurdy's attorney, Derek Teaney, proceeded to quote specific sections of the WV Code which cite public use as a requisite for the exercise of eminent domain for purposes of surveying in West Virginia.
At the close of the evidence presented by the plaintiff's (McCurdy's), rather than procceding to present MVP's case, Piccirillo made an oral motion for a 'directed verdict' (the legal term for a motion requesting a judge to make a decision based upon an assertion that the plaintiff has raised no genuine issue). Judge Irons denied the motion, saying he could not ignore language in the WV Code. Turning to Piccirillo, Judge Irons stated, "You have built your case on 'no need to consider public use'. My ruling is we do have to go there."
With thanks to all who supported the brave Monroe County citizens who challenged MVP's attempt to violate landowner rights,
Preserve Monroe
News Coverage from WVNS-TV: http://www.wvnstv.com/story/29721100/mountain-valley-and-property-owners-are-back-in-court News Coverage from The Roanoke Times: http://www.roanoke.com/news/local/mountain-valley-pipeline-opponents-win-a-round-in-west-virginia/article_63e81d57-cf5c-5370-a3af-66cb2f7b3fad.html News Coverage from WV Public Broadcasting: http://wvpublic.org/post/judge-bars-pipeline-surveyors-couple-s-property News Coverage from the Register-Herald: http://www.register-herald.com/news/judge-grants-injunction-to-keep-surveyors-off-land-in-pipeline/article_6aeae4c1-cf30-5f32-8d82-05f6c7764ea7.html
Here are two charts and a graphic about the scoping meetings. Pipe diameters are to scale.
To see the transcripts of the meetings visit: ferc.gov, select elibrary, then general search, extend earlier date (04 rather than 05), PF15-3, Class - transcript (it's at the bottom of the list).
No Pipeline Pie Supper and Auction - A Fundraiser for the Border Conservancy
Simple form to submit comments on the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, from the Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Scoping Period Ends June 16th! Make your comments to the FERC before then!
HOW TO SEND A COMMENT TO FERC
How to Send a Comment to FERC – PDF
Would you like to submit a comment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to let them know how you feel about the proposed pipelines? Below are some ideas for comments and here is how you do it:
Go to https://ferconline.ferc.gov/ and click on “e-Comment.”
Fill in the information field and look for an e-mail from FERC.
Click on the link in that email and enter the docket number for the pipeline you wish to comment on:Mountain Valley Pipeline PF15-3
You may also click “e-Subscribe” to receive alerts and the content of other comments.
If you wish to submit a hand written or typed comment you may mail it to:
Ms. Kimberly Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE, Room 1A
WONDERING WHAT TO SAY IN YOUR COMMENTS?
HERE ARE SOME IDEAS:
Dangers to our community:
42 inch pipelines are the largest of the gas pipelines. Pipelines often leak and explode, creating dangerous conditions for our residents.
Streams, creeks and rivers will be impacted by construction activities and our fresh water resources may be contaminated by leaks.
Trucks and heavy equipment would clog our roads and will contribute to increased diesel fuel and hydraulic fluid pollution in our communities.
The building of this pipeline would necessitate more hydraulic-fracturing (“fracking”) which would use millions of gallons of fresh water and thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals for each well drilled. Much of this fresh water stays a mile down in the ground, lost to the natural cycle, never to be available again.
Medical studies confirm that oil and gas spills release radioactive isotopes into land, water and air. This seepage of toxic chemicals would negatively impact our health.
Impacts to landowners:
A 75 foot permanent easement would limit the use of farmland and timber resources.
Properties on which the pipeline would be constructed will lose value as will neighboring properties.
Compressor stations – necessary to push the gas through the pipeline – are large, noisy and leak hydrocarbons into the air which would disrupt the use of land near and around them. There would also be significant stress caused by constant noise and traffic.
MVP will make a one-time payment for an easement. That easement severely restricts what can be done on that property and jeopardizes the future safety and stability of that land. The property owners would still be responsible for property taxes on that land.
Many properties will suffer diminished value and will be assessed at a lesser value. This will result in a tax loss for these localities. Property sales potential would be diminished. Some banks may not issue mortgages because of industrial use of the land. Some banks may even call in existing mortgages because of the decreased value of land.
Impacts to our land:
Many counties where the pipelines are proposed have karst geology. Karst limestone contains vulnerable water supplies. Leaks from a pipeline buried in this type of terrain would go unfiltered into the caves, underground streams and drinking water sources.
A 125 food wide construction right of way cut through our forested mountains would scar the landscape and fragment timber resources and hunting.
Tip: Your own issues in your own words will have the greatest impact.
What do you most care about?
How will this pipeline most affect you?
How to Send a Comment to FERC – PDF
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC): www.ferc.gov (website) Phone: 1-202-502-8004 Toll-Free: 1-866-208-3372
Geologist says pipeline threatens Monroe springs
By Tina Alvey REGISTER-HERALD REPORTER
UNION — Monroe County has always been known for its abundance of natural springs.
According to a 2009 comprehensive plan, by the early part of the 20th century at least 13 resorts had developed around some of the more famed Monroe springs — Red Sulphur, Salt Sulphur and Sweet Springs among them. But Peters Mountain, running along the county’s southeastern border, received special recognition in the plan for containing thousands of springs and, thus, being the source of most of Monroe’s drinking water.
Not surprisingly, much of the organized opposition to the route under consideration for a natural gas pipeline that will cut through the county centers on the perceived threat it poses to the pristine springs of Peters Mountain.
According to geologist Rick Eades, who lives and teaches in Monroe County, one of the routes now on the drawing board for the Mountain Valley Pipeline has the potential to foul Peters Mountain springs that serve the farming community of Gap Mills and Union, the county seat and largest population hub. But, Eades said, it is likely that those springs flow from a single 1.2-mile wide karst conduit that also carries water to the mountain’s other springs.
Beginning in the 1930s, flow testing of a sampling of those springs has shown great stability, suggesting to the geologist that Peters Mountain is “like one giant reservoir,” he said. During a Wednesday evening presentation before the Monroe County Commission, Eades said measurements have shown that 1.5 million gallons of water flows through those springs every day.
And a proposed route for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) — which will stretch 294 miles from Wetzel County, W.Va., to Pittsylvania County, Va., — runs right across the top of Peters Mountain.
Eades noted that while the bottom layers of the mountain are porous limestone, the summit is Tuscarora sandstone, a formation that reaches to an estimated depth of 120 feet from the mountain’s crest. “It’s the hardest rock in West Virginia,” he said.
Because the pipeline needs a level surface to traverse, the top of Peters Mountain will have to be blasted flat before additional blasts clear the 9-by-9-foot trench in which the pipe will rest in a gravel bed, Eades said.
“It’s the same as mountaintop removal,” he told the commission. “They’ll have to blast maybe 30 to 40 feet deep. It’ll take a lot of explosives.”
In addition to shattering the silica of the sandstone into minute particles that will inevitably filter down the mountainside, the blasting also will result in fractures through the underlying rock layers, Eades said. Thus, not only will potential contaminants be released, but the network of fractures will provide a pathway through which the resulting acidic runoff can eventually join the soft water flowing through the mountain’s limestone base.
“Eight billion gallons of water a year can be put at risk by this (pipeline project),” Eades warned. “You go from no risk (under current conditions) to one of the biggest risks you could imagine.”
The acidic water runoff could also have a detrimental effect on the pipeline itself, Eades said, explaining that as the water flows through the pipe trench, it will cause corrosion which could result in leakage.
“You’re adding up a lot of risk factors,” he said. “If it ever does leak, where does it go? Into the limestone.”
Eades asserted, “This is the most challenging portion of the pipeline’s path in the state.”
Further complicating the necessary blasting, if the Peters Mountain route is taken, is the complex rock folds in the Tuscarora. Rather than being arranged in orderly, flat strata, the sandstone was crumpled and folded back on itself during the millennia it took to form, and the resulting tangle makes it difficult for engineers to determine how the rock will fall and fracture when blasting charges are set off, Eades said.
And if the substrate is weakened in places by unpredictable fracturing, it will settle unevenly, potentially destabilizing the pipeline’s trench and the pipe it contains.
“They’re up against an inconceivable geologic challenge,” Eades said of the engineers working on this section of the MVP. “If the engineering company thinks they can do this, they must be magicians.”
• • •
Studies of the challenges posed by the proposed pipeline route — including the interconnection of the Monroe County springs — are still under way, according to the EQT Corporation which is partnered with NextEra US Gas Assets, LLC, in developing the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
“We are aware of the karst topography that exists along the proposed and alternative routes, and we respect the potential issues related to construction in these areas,” EQT’s corporate communications director Natalie A. Cox wrote in an e-mail responding to a Register-Herald inquiry.
“Karst topography exists in most areas of the country, with thousands of miles of transmission pipelines safely constructed through those areas,” Cox wrote.
“We have hired Draper Aden Associates as our third-party expert to study karst features along the (MVP) route, and they are currently investigating and evaluating underground springs in the potential karst areas. Draper will help us map out the areas of potential concern — and from there, a modification to the route may be proposed or site-specific construction techniques may be suggested and employed.”
Cox also wrote that EQT will have a contingency plan in place once construction on the pipeline begins “to help us respond to unforeseen karst issues during construction.” She continued, “As part of our process, underground springs are certainly one of the natural resources that we intend to evaluate and protect.”
Cox referenced an information-gathering process that included public meetings hosted by MVP developers in communities along the pipeline’s path, as well as land surveys that are still continuing.
“From day one of this project, Mountain Valley Pipeline has been committed to identifying a proposed route that has the least overall impact on landowners, the environment and cultural resources,” she wrote. “We have spent the last several months meeting with thousands of stakeholders in communities along the proposed route to hear their concerns and carefully consider the thoughtful feedback they’ve offered.
“We are currently in the process of gaining access to landowner properties to conduct land survey activities, which are an integral step in the process of evaluating proposed and alternative routes. This process includes an evaluation of the topography for constructability and an evaluation of environmental, historical and cultural resources.”
• • •
The Monroe County Commission earlier this month sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) requesting a 90-day extension on the “scoping period” connected with the MVP project. The “scoping” includes such issues as the anticipated environmental impact of the project and strategies to minimize or eliminate that impact.
Unless the extension is granted, the deadline for public comments on the MVP proposal is June 16. Comments may be filed online by going to www.ferc.gov and referencing project PF15-3-000.
Important Public Meeting May 21st with Senator Manchin's Staff in Monroe County!
PLEASE MAKE IT TO THIS MEETING ON THURSDAY, MAY 21ST AT THE MONROE COUNTY LIBRARY IN UNION.
THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK DIRECTLY TO SENATOR MANCHIN'S REPRESENTATIVES ABOUT THE MVP THREATS TO OUR COUNTY.
LET'S PACK THE MONROE COUNTY LIBRARY!
Manchin Launches 7th 'Commonsense Connections' Week
Manchin staff will visit every county in one week
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is pleased to announce that his office will launch its seventh “Commonsense Connections” Week beginning Monday, May 18. Representatives from Senator Manchin’s office will make more than 80 stops across the state to bring federal government to West Virginians, hear their commonsense priorities and concerns, and to take this information back to the Senator.
“I believe in retail government - bringing the government directly to our citizens, hearing their concerns and finding the best possible commonsense solutions to the issues that matter to them,” Senator Manchin said. “The customer comes first in business, just as the citizens should come first in government. That is what ‘Commonsense Connections’ is all about – my staff travels to every corner of the state and meets with our constituents to hear about their personal challenges and concerns, and then delivers those thoughts and suggestions to Washington.”
Senator Manchin launched his first-ever “Commonsense Connections” Week in February 2011, when representatives from his office traveled to all 55 counties in the state. This is the seventh time the staff will visit every county in the state in just one week.
Monroe County
Date: Thursday, May 21
Time: 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Location: Monroe County Public Library, 103 South Street, Union
Monroe County Organic District Formed
Help Stop the Pipeline - Go Organic! That is the hope of the newly formed Monroe County Organic District, a coalition of county residents who manage their land in accordance with organic standards.
The Organic District is gathering information about organically managed land in Monroe County, from certified organic farms, to home gardens, and individuals interested in transitioning to organic practices.
Information collected will be used to foster greater community awareness of organic land management in the county, aid organic practitioners in cooperative efforts, and encourage more residents to follow organic management practices. Data regarding organically managed land in Monroe County will be presented to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Mountain Valley Pipeline officials in an effort to protect organically managed lands from a natural gas pipeline intrusion.
To register your land as part of the Monroe County Organic District, or for more information please contact Joel Shaffran at (304)-228-6527 or Natalie Sandell at [email protected]
Share a pic of your #NoPipeline sign! Tag us in the photo (or the comments) on @instagram or use the #NoPipeline hashtag to submit your photo! Need a sign? Contact us at [email protected] TODAY!
Contact Shelley Capito and Joe Manchin TODAY and tell them to STOP the ARENA Act!
Senator Shelley Moore Capito DC Office: (202) 224-6472 WV State Office: (304) 347-5372 Martinsburg, WV Office: (304) 262-9285 Senator Joe Manchin DC Office: (202) 224-3954 WV State Office: (304) 342-5855 West Virginians (with the area code 340 or 681) may call this TOLL FREE number: (855) 275-5737
For more information on the ARENA Act follow these links: http://www.capito.senate.gov/sites/default/files/ARENA%20Act_Bill%20Text.pdf http://www.capito.senate.gov/content/capito-introduces-legislation-modernize-approval-process-new-pipelines You can also tweet at Senator Capito (@SenCapito), Senator Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin, and the EPA (@EPA) using the hashtag #ARENA
Online Fundraising Campaign Launched
Yesterday we launched a crowdsourcing campaign on the website Indiegogo! Please consider making a donation to our campaign, and spread the word to your friends and neighbors. You can find our campaign here!
There are a number of "perks" offered for donations of various sizes - including (but not limited to) handmade butter trays by Monroe County resident Joe Chasnoff, of From the Woods, fused glass jewlery handmade by Monroe County resident Laurie Ardison, a ticket to the Pink Moon Festival in Rock Camp, WV, a private concert by musical duo Robin & Doug, and more!
Again, even if you are unable to contribute monetarily, please share our campaign with as many people as possible. Spread the word and help us protect Monroe County!
With More Proposed Pipelines, Here's a Look at West Virginia's Recent Accidents
From WV Public Broadcasting By DAVE MISTICH & JESSE WRIGHT
Two major interstate projects have been proposed for West Virginia: The Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley pipelines. The goal is to create infrastructure that can carry natural gas from hydraulic fracturing operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale areas to markets in the East and South East.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, or MVP, would begin in Wetzel County and tie into the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, Va., about 330 miles away. The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, or ACP, would run about 550 miles from Harrison County through Virginia and end at Lumberton, N.C.
Both the ACP and MVP would be 42 inches in diameter, the largest transmission lines yet to be built in West Virginia. The lines would carry 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day up to 1,440 psi. Both projects require 125-foot temporary construction easements and 75-foot permanent easements. The lines would be buried about 3 feet underground.
Current routes show the lines would travel through parts of the Monongahela and George Washington and Jefferson National forests.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is currently reviewing both projects. If approved, construction on both projects is slated to begin in late 2016 or early 2017. The pipelines are expected to be in service by late 2018.
Opponents of the projects have cited health and safety concerns, among other issues.
Should there be a catastrophic failure of the line, the blast zone at full pressure could be up to 1,150 feet. The safe evacuation zone would be more than a mile away.
Several smaller inter-and intrastate lines are either in the works or have begun construction.
A Summary of Significant Pipeline Incidents in West Virginia (2003-2014):
According to data from the federal Pipeline Safety & Hazardous Materials Administration, 19 significant incidents have occurred in West Virginia between 2003 and 2014. The agency classifies incidents as "significant" when any of the following conditions are met: 1) Fatality or injury requiring in-patient hospitalization. 2) $50,000 or more in total costs, measured in 1984 dollars. 3) Highly volatile liquid releases of 5 barrels or more or other liquid releases of 50 barrels or more. 4) Liquid releases resulting in an unintentional fire or explosion.
Between 2003 and 2014, significant incidents in West Virginia have resulted in:
5 fatalities
9 injuries
$13,728,650 in property damages
11,412 barrels of spilled hazardous liquids
Monroe County Citizens Say Mountain Valley Pipeline Comes Too Close to Historic Hotel
From WV Public Broadcasting By BETH VORHEES
On West Virginia Morning, citizens in Monroe County are concerned that a proposed natural gas pipeline comes too close to an historic hotel.
Listen here!