Dear Chairman Robert Dunn and Members of the State Water Control Board:
In December, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ or the Department)
will ask you, members of the State Water Control Board (the Board), to determine
whether the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline projects will meet
Virginia water quality standards. If the Board lacks “reasonable assurance” that water
quality will be protected—including if it does not have the necessary information to make
a “reasonable assurance” finding—it cannot approve the requested water quality
certifications without violating section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Thousands of
Virginias have seriously questioned whether the Board can have such assurance in light
of the inadequacy of the information provided by the pipeline developers and reviewed
by the Department. This letter highlights the key legal issues to aid the Board in its
review of these projects: