CHANGE Environmental, LLC conducted an expert Cost Assessment of open vs. cut boring impacts across hundreds of streams proposed by Mountain Valley Pipeline. This also included a highly extensive Ecological Impact Report on a high-pressure natural gas pipeline to be installed by Mountain Valley Pipeline, (MVP) in Virginia. The Appalachian Mountain Advocates and the Environmental Integrity Project, (EIP) requested CHANGE to evaluate using expertise the evaluations on ecological was to determined if, whether or not Impacts would be “minimal” and “short term”. An independent evaluation of ecological impacts and sediment load, including but not limited to the likely amount of sediment released and the duration of elevated sediment discharge.
CHANGE extensively reviewed and advised on MVP’s natural gas pipeline permit applications submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commissions (FERC). Cost estimates were reviewed concerning the Pipelines cost estimates for stream crossing options, particularly the cost estimates for horizontal drilling to ensure validity of present costs.
CHANGE Environmental, LLC found there were several cost and ecological concerns resulting from the critical evaluation. Ecological impacts would truly need to be further taken into consideration and evaluated to fully ensure that all measures would have no noticeable effect on the ecology of all regions involved. Our evaluation presented several concerns that are typical resulting from large scale drilling activities across hundreds of miles involving land and waterways.