Tree Sit Launched In Path of Mountain Valley Pipeline in WV

The following press release was sent to It’s Going Down and announces an active tree-sit, ‘Peters Mountain Stand,’ in West Virginia against the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). For background information on pipelines in West Virginia, go here to listen to our podcast interview with a local organizer. For other updates, go to Appalachians Against Pipelines.

“While things are held up here, trees are being cut one hundred miles north to prepare for construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Fuck ‘em. An encampment has formed and continues to grow in the proposed pathway.”

Today, Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC set out to continue preparation for a horizontal drill pad on the West Virginia side of Peters Mountain. Contractors hired by the company arrived at the site this afternoon to find a number of resisters had already taken to the trees.

After almost a month of delays from their intended construction date, and in anticipation of a cease as a result of federally protected species, MVP is rushing to begin the intensive process of boring a hole through the mountain. The 125-foot easement surrounding the drill site is now thoroughly defended. 

The company intends to construct the 42-inch natural gas pipeline in eleven simultaneous sections. However, that plan is being complicated as the company awaits permits from FERC and faces nearly three hundred defiant landowners refusing to sign easements. 

While things are held up here, trees are being cut one hundred miles north to prepare for construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Fuck ‘em. An encampment has formed and continues to grow in the proposed pathway.

Dominion Energy, the monopolizing parasite, needs the ACP to get built so they can export natural gas for profit. West Virginians or Virginians won’t see any of that money while bearing the destructive consequences of extraction and construction.

We know that resource extraction and the exploitation inherent to it is not new to Appalachia—it’s scarred into the land. We stand in solidarity with all those who have fought for their communities and against corporate greed. We recognize that the struggle we continue today began in 1492. Our struggle against these pipelines remains a struggle against settler-colonialism.

All of this is to say that our struggle is far from over. 
They haven’t even begun.

In solidarity,
Peters Mountain Stand

To donate to folks resisting the MVP in Virginia and West Virginia, please consider donating here, and spread the link to your friends, families, and networks.