On Dec. 1st the Forest Service issued a Record of Decision to amend the Jefferson National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) to allow for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project
(MVP Project).
The Forest Service’s Record of Decision modifies 11 standards in the Forest Plan to accommodate the pipeline construction and requires measures to minimize environmental impacts. The agency
will also provide a letter of concurrence for the MVP Project to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM is responsible for approving pipelines that cross Federal lands under the jurisdiction of two or more federal agencies, but must have the concurrence
of the involved agencies. These actions are necessary steps in order for the MVP Project to be built on National Forest System lands.
This decision will support federal policies emphasizing energy infrastructure, jobs, economic growth, and our agency’s efforts to provide for multiple use. The decision also continues to provide
for social, economic, and ecological sustainability of the Jefferson National Forest (JNF).
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline on June 23, 2017, and issued the Certificate of Public Convenience
and Necessity on October 13, 2017. The pipeline will cross 3.6 miles of the JNF in Monroe County, West Virginia and Giles and Montgomery Counties in Virginia.
For more information on this final decision, please visit the
George Washington and Jefferson National Forests website.