#mountainvalleypipelinellc — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #mountainvalleypipelinellc, aggregated by home.social.
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Defenders in #Appalachia Against #MountainValleyPipeline Avoided #FelonyCharges
"Initially we were charged with #conspiracy. The real conspiracy is between the #prosecutors and the #judges, between the #cops and the #corporations."
By #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines, #CensoredNews, March 3, 2025
"Last Tuesday, 12 pipeline fighters had court in Giles County for charges resulting from three different actions against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in 2023 and 2024 in and around the #JeffersonNationalForest, including one site where #MVP was drilling through the mountain under the #AppalachianTrail.
"Eleven of the defendants accepted non-cooperating plea deals -- all of them were facing absurd felony charges, including
felony abduction and felony 'unauthorized use of a vehicle.' In the end, they plead to misdemeanor charges and there were NO felony convictions. They were sentenced to community service, probation, and to pay restitution. The court room was PACKED all day long with supporters!"Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/defenders-in-appalachia-against.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #CorporateColonialism #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #ACAB #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
Defenders in #Appalachia Against #MountainValleyPipeline Avoided #FelonyCharges
"Initially we were charged with #conspiracy. The real conspiracy is between the #prosecutors and the #judges, between the #cops and the #corporations."
By #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines, #CensoredNews, March 3, 2025
"Last Tuesday, 12 pipeline fighters had court in Giles County for charges resulting from three different actions against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in 2023 and 2024 in and around the #JeffersonNationalForest, including one site where #MVP was drilling through the mountain under the #AppalachianTrail.
"Eleven of the defendants accepted non-cooperating plea deals -- all of them were facing absurd felony charges, including
felony abduction and felony 'unauthorized use of a vehicle.' In the end, they plead to misdemeanor charges and there were NO felony convictions. They were sentenced to community service, probation, and to pay restitution. The court room was PACKED all day long with supporters!"Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/defenders-in-appalachia-against.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #CorporateColonialism #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #ACAB #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
Defenders in #Appalachia Against #MountainValleyPipeline Avoided #FelonyCharges
"Initially we were charged with #conspiracy. The real conspiracy is between the #prosecutors and the #judges, between the #cops and the #corporations."
By #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines, #CensoredNews, March 3, 2025
"Last Tuesday, 12 pipeline fighters had court in Giles County for charges resulting from three different actions against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in 2023 and 2024 in and around the #JeffersonNationalForest, including one site where #MVP was drilling through the mountain under the #AppalachianTrail.
"Eleven of the defendants accepted non-cooperating plea deals -- all of them were facing absurd felony charges, including
felony abduction and felony 'unauthorized use of a vehicle.' In the end, they plead to misdemeanor charges and there were NO felony convictions. They were sentenced to community service, probation, and to pay restitution. The court room was PACKED all day long with supporters!"Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/defenders-in-appalachia-against.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #CorporateColonialism #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #ACAB #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
Defenders in #Appalachia Against #MountainValleyPipeline Avoided #FelonyCharges
"Initially we were charged with #conspiracy. The real conspiracy is between the #prosecutors and the #judges, between the #cops and the #corporations."
By #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines, #CensoredNews, March 3, 2025
"Last Tuesday, 12 pipeline fighters had court in Giles County for charges resulting from three different actions against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in 2023 and 2024 in and around the #JeffersonNationalForest, including one site where #MVP was drilling through the mountain under the #AppalachianTrail.
"Eleven of the defendants accepted non-cooperating plea deals -- all of them were facing absurd felony charges, including
felony abduction and felony 'unauthorized use of a vehicle.' In the end, they plead to misdemeanor charges and there were NO felony convictions. They were sentenced to community service, probation, and to pay restitution. The court room was PACKED all day long with supporters!"Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/defenders-in-appalachia-against.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #CorporateColonialism #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #ACAB #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
Defenders in #Appalachia Against #MountainValleyPipeline Avoided #FelonyCharges
"Initially we were charged with #conspiracy. The real conspiracy is between the #prosecutors and the #judges, between the #cops and the #corporations."
By #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines, #CensoredNews, March 3, 2025
"Last Tuesday, 12 pipeline fighters had court in Giles County for charges resulting from three different actions against the Mountain Valley Pipeline in 2023 and 2024 in and around the #JeffersonNationalForest, including one site where #MVP was drilling through the mountain under the #AppalachianTrail.
"Eleven of the defendants accepted non-cooperating plea deals -- all of them were facing absurd felony charges, including
felony abduction and felony 'unauthorized use of a vehicle.' In the end, they plead to misdemeanor charges and there were NO felony convictions. They were sentenced to community service, probation, and to pay restitution. The court room was PACKED all day long with supporters!"Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/03/defenders-in-appalachia-against.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #CorporateColonialism #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #ACAB #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
#MountainValleyPipeline #LandDefenders Appear in Court: Images by Dr. Michelle Cook, #Dine'
via #CensoredNewsGILES COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - "Around twelve people charged in connection to protests of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in court Tuesday.
"Dozens of people from Monroe County, #WestVirginia to Roanoke County packed a Giles County district courtroom in support of their friends and neighbors facing charges related to the $8 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"The charges range from misdemeanors to non-violent felonies, all related to #protestors' efforts to halt #pipeline construction or prevent #drilling."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/02/mountain-valley-pipeline-land-defenders.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
#MountainValleyPipeline #LandDefenders Appear in Court: Images by Dr. Michelle Cook, #Dine'
via #CensoredNewsGILES COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - "Around twelve people charged in connection to protests of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in court Tuesday.
"Dozens of people from Monroe County, #WestVirginia to Roanoke County packed a Giles County district courtroom in support of their friends and neighbors facing charges related to the $8 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"The charges range from misdemeanors to non-violent felonies, all related to #protestors' efforts to halt #pipeline construction or prevent #drilling."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/02/mountain-valley-pipeline-land-defenders.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
#MountainValleyPipeline #LandDefenders Appear in Court: Images by Dr. Michelle Cook, #Dine'
via #CensoredNewsGILES COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - "Around twelve people charged in connection to protests of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in court Tuesday.
"Dozens of people from Monroe County, #WestVirginia to Roanoke County packed a Giles County district courtroom in support of their friends and neighbors facing charges related to the $8 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"The charges range from misdemeanors to non-violent felonies, all related to #protestors' efforts to halt #pipeline construction or prevent #drilling."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/02/mountain-valley-pipeline-land-defenders.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
#MountainValleyPipeline #LandDefenders Appear in Court: Images by Dr. Michelle Cook, #Dine'
via #CensoredNewsGILES COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - "Around twelve people charged in connection to protests of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in court Tuesday.
"Dozens of people from Monroe County, #WestVirginia to Roanoke County packed a Giles County district courtroom in support of their friends and neighbors facing charges related to the $8 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"The charges range from misdemeanors to non-violent felonies, all related to #protestors' efforts to halt #pipeline construction or prevent #drilling."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/02/mountain-valley-pipeline-land-defenders.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
#MountainValleyPipeline #LandDefenders Appear in Court: Images by Dr. Michelle Cook, #Dine'
via #CensoredNewsGILES COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - "Around twelve people charged in connection to protests of the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline appeared in court Tuesday.
"Dozens of people from Monroe County, #WestVirginia to Roanoke County packed a Giles County district courtroom in support of their friends and neighbors facing charges related to the $8 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline.
"The charges range from misdemeanors to non-violent felonies, all related to #protestors' efforts to halt #pipeline construction or prevent #drilling."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2025/02/mountain-valley-pipeline-land-defenders.html
#ReaderSupportedNews #LandDefenders #WaterProtectors #MountainProtectors #CriminalizingDissent #SilencingDissent #JeffersonNationalForest #AppalachianTrail #AppalachiansAgainstPipelines #SLAPPs #WaterIsLife #NoPipelines #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #Virginia #WestVirginia #NorthCarolina #CorporateGreed #ComplicitGovernment -
#MVP protester blocks work in #JeffersonNationalForest
by Laurence Hammack Jan 29, 2024
"#MountainValleyPipeline protester chained herself to equipment early Monday morning in a remote spot where construction crews are boring under the #Appalachian Trail in the Jefferson National Forest.
"Madeline ffitch of Millfield, Ohio, blocked work for about seven hours, according to Appalachians Against Pipelines. (Multiple sources listed the spelling of the woman’s name as “ffitch.”)
"A team of specially trained Virginia State Police troopers were called in to remove ffitch. The 42-year-old had used a “sleeping dragon” – a metal pipe reinforced with rebar into which she inserted her hands – to lock herself to a construction vehicle, according to police spokeswoman Corinne Geller.
"Police charged #ffitch with unauthorized use of a vehicle, trespassing, obstruction of justice and interfering with the property rights of Mountain Valley. She was being held without bond Monday evening."
#MountainValleyPipeline #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #NoPipelines #WaterIsLife #SilencingDissent #SLAPPs #CriminalizingDissent
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#Lakota #MamaJulz Locked Down, Arrested, in Jail, Fighting Appalachian #Pipeline
"Without water there in no life. Violence against #MotherEarth is violence against our sisters."
By Brenda Norrell, #CensoredNews, Feb. 2, 2024
"'Find your Warrior Spirit,' said Mama Julz, Lakota, who locked down, was arrested, and is now in jail, for fighting the pipeline in #Appalachia."
Read more:
https://bsnorrell.blogspot.com/2024/02/lakota-mama-julz-locked-down-arrested.html#MountainValleyPipeline #MountainValleyPipelineLLC #NoPipelines #WaterIsLife #NativeAmericanActivist #SilencingDissent
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Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the #MountainValleyPipeline
The project is over budget and behind schedule, with a lot of hard work left to do. Its opponents hope that makes #FossilFuel companies think twice about building the next one.
By Katie Myers
Published Jan 16, 2024"As day broke over the small mountain town of #EllistonVirginia, one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them, unfurling banners and chanting amid the groaning and beeping of construction equipment.
"They made their way across the field, over patches of bare earth, around sections of rusty pipe meant for burial beneath the mountain. Eventually the metal tubes will form yet another section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will soon carry 2 billion cubic feet of #fracked #methane from the #ShaleFields of #WestVirginia to #NorthCarolina each day. Their breath billowed in the crisp air. Beyond them stretched a bright blue sky, and mountains tinged with yellow. The past night’s rain pooled on the muddy and compacted soil beneath their feet.
"Workers in highlighter-yellow vests and hard hats milled around, some looking amused, others frustrated. One or two engaged with the #protesters, only to be told off by an irate site manager. A few miles away at the West Virginia state line, another three dozen or so activists did much the same atop #PetersMountain. One even managed to crawl under an excavator and lock herself in place, despite the cold. The others rallied around, enclosing her in a tight, protective circle.
Some might wonder why they bothered. After all, the project is, by the Mountain Valley Pipeline company’s estimate, 94 percent complete and will be wrapped up before summer. It stalled for several years amid legal fights over various permits, but Senator #JoeManchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, almost single-handedly revived it in 2022 in exchange for his support of key Democratic priorities. Since then, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court have all but assured its completion. With the approximately 303-mile pipeline approaching the final stretch after almost a decade’s work, it might seem hardly worth fighting at this point.
"A large contingent of steadfast opposition begs to differ — and will enthusiastically explain why. The pipeline is six years behind schedule, about half a billion dollars over budget, and, despite promises that it would be done by the end of last year, delayed once again. The remaining construction is over rugged terrain, with hundreds of water crossings left to bridge. The company recently postponed, shortened, and rerouted its planned extension into North Carolina, a proposal long stymied by permitting problems with the main line. And, just last month, #Equitrans, which owns the #pipeline and many others across the country, was said to be considering selling itself. The road to the pipeline’s completion remains rocky, its opponents argue, with many opportunities to make finishing it as difficult as possible.
"'We cannot let them destroy our land and water,' said a young woman named Ericka. Like many interviewed for this story, she gave only her first name out of fear of reprisal from #MountainValleyPipelineLLC, which has begun suing #protesters in a bid to silence them. She had brought her three children to occupy the land that day. 'What are we going to drink? Where are we going to live? People have to come here and stop this.'"
#SilencingDissent #DirectAction #ClimateCatastrophe #NoFracking #WaterIsLife #SLAPPs #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas -
Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the #MountainValleyPipeline
The project is over budget and behind schedule, with a lot of hard work left to do. Its opponents hope that makes #FossilFuel companies think twice about building the next one.
By Katie Myers
Published Jan 16, 2024"As day broke over the small mountain town of #EllistonVirginia, one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them, unfurling banners and chanting amid the groaning and beeping of construction equipment.
"They made their way across the field, over patches of bare earth, around sections of rusty pipe meant for burial beneath the mountain. Eventually the metal tubes will form yet another section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will soon carry 2 billion cubic feet of #fracked #methane from the #ShaleFields of #WestVirginia to #NorthCarolina each day. Their breath billowed in the crisp air. Beyond them stretched a bright blue sky, and mountains tinged with yellow. The past night’s rain pooled on the muddy and compacted soil beneath their feet.
"Workers in highlighter-yellow vests and hard hats milled around, some looking amused, others frustrated. One or two engaged with the #protesters, only to be told off by an irate site manager. A few miles away at the West Virginia state line, another three dozen or so activists did much the same atop #PetersMountain. One even managed to crawl under an excavator and lock herself in place, despite the cold. The others rallied around, enclosing her in a tight, protective circle.
Some might wonder why they bothered. After all, the project is, by the Mountain Valley Pipeline company’s estimate, 94 percent complete and will be wrapped up before summer. It stalled for several years amid legal fights over various permits, but Senator #JoeManchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, almost single-handedly revived it in 2022 in exchange for his support of key Democratic priorities. Since then, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court have all but assured its completion. With the approximately 303-mile pipeline approaching the final stretch after almost a decade’s work, it might seem hardly worth fighting at this point.
"A large contingent of steadfast opposition begs to differ — and will enthusiastically explain why. The pipeline is six years behind schedule, about half a billion dollars over budget, and, despite promises that it would be done by the end of last year, delayed once again. The remaining construction is over rugged terrain, with hundreds of water crossings left to bridge. The company recently postponed, shortened, and rerouted its planned extension into North Carolina, a proposal long stymied by permitting problems with the main line. And, just last month, #Equitrans, which owns the #pipeline and many others across the country, was said to be considering selling itself. The road to the pipeline’s completion remains rocky, its opponents argue, with many opportunities to make finishing it as difficult as possible.
"'We cannot let them destroy our land and water,' said a young woman named Ericka. Like many interviewed for this story, she gave only her first name out of fear of reprisal from #MountainValleyPipelineLLC, which has begun suing #protesters in a bid to silence them. She had brought her three children to occupy the land that day. 'What are we going to drink? Where are we going to live? People have to come here and stop this.'"
#SilencingDissent #DirectAction #ClimateCatastrophe #NoFracking #WaterIsLife #SLAPPs #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas -
Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the #MountainValleyPipeline
The project is over budget and behind schedule, with a lot of hard work left to do. Its opponents hope that makes #FossilFuel companies think twice about building the next one.
By Katie Myers
Published Jan 16, 2024"As day broke over the small mountain town of #EllistonVirginia, one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them, unfurling banners and chanting amid the groaning and beeping of construction equipment.
"They made their way across the field, over patches of bare earth, around sections of rusty pipe meant for burial beneath the mountain. Eventually the metal tubes will form yet another section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will soon carry 2 billion cubic feet of #fracked #methane from the #ShaleFields of #WestVirginia to #NorthCarolina each day. Their breath billowed in the crisp air. Beyond them stretched a bright blue sky, and mountains tinged with yellow. The past night’s rain pooled on the muddy and compacted soil beneath their feet.
"Workers in highlighter-yellow vests and hard hats milled around, some looking amused, others frustrated. One or two engaged with the #protesters, only to be told off by an irate site manager. A few miles away at the West Virginia state line, another three dozen or so activists did much the same atop #PetersMountain. One even managed to crawl under an excavator and lock herself in place, despite the cold. The others rallied around, enclosing her in a tight, protective circle.
Some might wonder why they bothered. After all, the project is, by the Mountain Valley Pipeline company’s estimate, 94 percent complete and will be wrapped up before summer. It stalled for several years amid legal fights over various permits, but Senator #JoeManchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, almost single-handedly revived it in 2022 in exchange for his support of key Democratic priorities. Since then, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court have all but assured its completion. With the approximately 303-mile pipeline approaching the final stretch after almost a decade’s work, it might seem hardly worth fighting at this point.
"A large contingent of steadfast opposition begs to differ — and will enthusiastically explain why. The pipeline is six years behind schedule, about half a billion dollars over budget, and, despite promises that it would be done by the end of last year, delayed once again. The remaining construction is over rugged terrain, with hundreds of water crossings left to bridge. The company recently postponed, shortened, and rerouted its planned extension into North Carolina, a proposal long stymied by permitting problems with the main line. And, just last month, #Equitrans, which owns the #pipeline and many others across the country, was said to be considering selling itself. The road to the pipeline’s completion remains rocky, its opponents argue, with many opportunities to make finishing it as difficult as possible.
"'We cannot let them destroy our land and water,' said a young woman named Ericka. Like many interviewed for this story, she gave only her first name out of fear of reprisal from #MountainValleyPipelineLLC, which has begun suing #protesters in a bid to silence them. She had brought her three children to occupy the land that day. 'What are we going to drink? Where are we going to live? People have to come here and stop this.'"
#SilencingDissent #DirectAction #ClimateCatastrophe #NoFracking #WaterIsLife #SLAPPs #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas -
Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the #MountainValleyPipeline
The project is over budget and behind schedule, with a lot of hard work left to do. Its opponents hope that makes #FossilFuel companies think twice about building the next one.
By Katie Myers
Published Jan 16, 2024"As day broke over the small mountain town of #EllistonVirginia, one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them, unfurling banners and chanting amid the groaning and beeping of construction equipment.
"They made their way across the field, over patches of bare earth, around sections of rusty pipe meant for burial beneath the mountain. Eventually the metal tubes will form yet another section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will soon carry 2 billion cubic feet of #fracked #methane from the #ShaleFields of #WestVirginia to #NorthCarolina each day. Their breath billowed in the crisp air. Beyond them stretched a bright blue sky, and mountains tinged with yellow. The past night’s rain pooled on the muddy and compacted soil beneath their feet.
"Workers in highlighter-yellow vests and hard hats milled around, some looking amused, others frustrated. One or two engaged with the #protesters, only to be told off by an irate site manager. A few miles away at the West Virginia state line, another three dozen or so activists did much the same atop #PetersMountain. One even managed to crawl under an excavator and lock herself in place, despite the cold. The others rallied around, enclosing her in a tight, protective circle.
Some might wonder why they bothered. After all, the project is, by the Mountain Valley Pipeline company’s estimate, 94 percent complete and will be wrapped up before summer. It stalled for several years amid legal fights over various permits, but Senator #JoeManchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, almost single-handedly revived it in 2022 in exchange for his support of key Democratic priorities. Since then, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court have all but assured its completion. With the approximately 303-mile pipeline approaching the final stretch after almost a decade’s work, it might seem hardly worth fighting at this point.
"A large contingent of steadfast opposition begs to differ — and will enthusiastically explain why. The pipeline is six years behind schedule, about half a billion dollars over budget, and, despite promises that it would be done by the end of last year, delayed once again. The remaining construction is over rugged terrain, with hundreds of water crossings left to bridge. The company recently postponed, shortened, and rerouted its planned extension into North Carolina, a proposal long stymied by permitting problems with the main line. And, just last month, #Equitrans, which owns the #pipeline and many others across the country, was said to be considering selling itself. The road to the pipeline’s completion remains rocky, its opponents argue, with many opportunities to make finishing it as difficult as possible.
"'We cannot let them destroy our land and water,' said a young woman named Ericka. Like many interviewed for this story, she gave only her first name out of fear of reprisal from #MountainValleyPipelineLLC, which has begun suing #protesters in a bid to silence them. She had brought her three children to occupy the land that day. 'What are we going to drink? Where are we going to live? People have to come here and stop this.'"
#SilencingDissent #DirectAction #ClimateCatastrophe #NoFracking #WaterIsLife #SLAPPs #Fascism #CriminalizingDissent #WaterProtectors #ForestDefenders #EnvironmentalActivists #ClimateActivists #ClimateJustice #CorporateColonialism #EcoActivists #Censorship
#HumanRightsViolations #Article20 #RightToProtest #BigOilAndGas -
Inside the last-ditch effort to stop the #MountainValleyPipeline
The project is over budget and behind schedule, with a lot of hard work left to do. Its opponents hope that makes #FossilFuel companies think twice about building the next one.
By Katie Myers
Published Jan 16, 2024"As day broke over the small mountain town of #EllistonVirginia, one Monday in October, masked figures in thick coats emerged from the woods surrounding a construction site. Three of them approached three excavators and, one by one, locked themselves to the machines, bringing the day’s work to a halt. As they did so, several dozen of their fellow protesters gathered around them, unfurling banners and chanting amid the groaning and beeping of construction equipment.
"They made their way across the field, over patches of bare earth, around sections of rusty pipe meant for burial beneath the mountain. Eventually the metal tubes will form yet another section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will soon carry 2 billion cubic feet of #fracked #methane from the #ShaleFields of #WestVirginia to #NorthCarolina each day. Their breath billowed in the crisp air. Beyond them stretched a bright blue sky, and mountains tinged with yellow. The past night’s rain pooled on the muddy and compacted soil beneath their feet.
"Workers in highlighter-yellow vests and hard hats milled around, some looking amused, others frustrated. One or two engaged with the #protesters, only to be told off by an irate site manager. A few miles away at the West Virginia state line, another three dozen or so activists did much the same atop #PetersMountain. One even managed to crawl under an excavator and lock herself in place, despite the cold. The others rallied around, enclosing her in a tight, protective circle.
Some might wonder why they bothered. After all, the project is, by the Mountain Valley Pipeline company’s estimate, 94 percent complete and will be wrapped up before summer. It stalled for several years amid legal fights over various permits, but Senator #JoeManchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, almost single-handedly revived it in 2022 in exchange for his support of key Democratic priorities. Since then, the Biden administration and the Supreme Court have all but assured its completion. With the approximately 303-mile pipeline approaching the final stretch after almost a decade’s work, it might seem hardly worth fighting at this point.
"A large contingent of steadfast opposition begs to differ — and will enthusiastically explain why. The pipeline is six years behind schedule, about half a billion dollars over budget, and, despite promises that it would be done by the end of last year, delayed once again. The remaining construction is over rugged terrain, with hundreds of water crossings left to bridge. The company recently postponed, shortened, and rerouted its planned extension into North Carolina, a proposal long stymied by permitting problems with the main line. And, just last month, #Equitrans, which owns the #pipeline and many others across the country, was said to be considering selling itself. The road to the pipeline’s completion remains rocky, its opponents argue, with many opportunities to make finishing it as difficult as possible.
"'We cannot let them destroy our land and water,' said a young woman named Ericka. Like many interviewed for this story, she gave only her first name out of fear of reprisal from #MountainValleyPipelineLLC, which has begun suing #protesters in a bid to silence them. She had brought her three children to occupy the land that day. 'What are we going to drink? Where are we going to live? People have to come here and stop this.'"
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