CRAIG COUNTY RESIDENTS AND PROPERTY OWNERS STILL NEED TO COMMENT TO FERC EVEN THOUGH THE COMMENT PERIOD FOR THE SCOPE OF ITS UPCOMING ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT FOR MVP GAS PIPELINE HAS ENDED!

WHY SO IMPORTANT
This is a critically important step in the regulatory process that will ultimately decide the fate of the natural gas pipeline that might get constructed in our area. Preserve Craig urges you to help us show Federal regulators just how much community interest there is in the pipeline project and what the concerns are. Your comment will be considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) when it assesses the environmental impacts of the proposed route and the various alternative routes for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. FERC will base its decision in large measure on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that it completes as part of this process. This decision will determine whether, where and how the pipeline project will be constructed.

WHAT YOU SHOULD SAY
This is the place for you to identify the environmental issues you believe need to be addressed, not so much a place for in-depth or detailed analysis of the issues. Your comments should focus on the possible environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. It is much better to write (or type) a personal comment than to parrot or copy a formatted comment. Since you are writing from a Craig County perspective and presumably most concerned about the alternative routes that would traverse Craig, it would be particularly helpful to discuss environmental issues that are distinctive to Craig. These include:

• Federally endangered and threatened species (like the James spinnymussel)
• Pipeline construction on Craig’s very steep unstable slopes and resulting erosion and sedimentation
• Cultural Attachment, as determined a significant issue by the U.S. Forest Service in its 2002 Record of Decision that denied AEP’s application for a Craig County high voltage electric power line crossing (“Cultural Attachment” is an important but somewhat complex issue. It relates to our sense of living in a unique place, characterized by clean, abundant water in wild streams that support diverse biological communities with minimal impact from development and industrialization. Click here for more discussion of this issue.)
• Water Quality and Water Quantity impacts of construction in sensitive Karst geologic terrain in a county heavily dependent on wells and springs for household water
• Visual impacts from wide right of ways traversing forested ridge lines and adjacent steep slopes
• Safety concerns in light of a 2000 foot blast zone that surrounds a large gas pipeline like this if it were to leak and explode, and our rural community’s limited emergency and fire response capabilities.

You will find additional useful information on issues relating to Craig, including a discussion of Cultural Attachment, in the Preserve Craig Science and Technical Committee’s April 10 comment to the U.S. Forest Service on the request by MVP to survey Jefferson National Forest lands for its pipeline project. A copy of this report is available here.

Click here for more suggested topics to include in your comment.

WHERE DO YOU SEND OR MAKE YOUR COMMENT
There are several methods you can use to submit your comments to FERC. In all instances, please reference the project docket number (CP16-10-000) with your submission. FERC encourages electronic filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or efiling@ferc.gov. However, we recommend mailing a paper copy as many have found FERC’s website to be difficult to navigate

You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to the following address:
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
888 First Street NE, Room 1A
Washington, DC 20426

Please be advised that Ms. Bose is NOT the FERC decision maker. She records your comments in the official docket and sees that they are provided to the FERC Commission and staff. Some commentators from other locales have mistakenly appealed to her to render a favorable decision.

You can file your comments electronically using the eFiling feature located on the FERC’s website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to Documents & Filings. With eFiling, you can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on eRegister.