Pipeline blues

The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 prevented a U.S. default which would have sent shockwaves across the global economy. Radical proposals that would have imperiled low- income people’s access to health care were thankfully not included.  In short, it could have been a lot worse.  Yet still there were casualties. 

Flat budgets for domestic discretionary spending essentially are funding cuts in programs for everything except military spending. The bill will take away food assistance from more adults without dependents by way of time limits linked to so-called work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).  Although thankfully there were carveouts for veterans, kids aging out of foster care, and people experiencing homelessness. 

One particularly unpleasant surprise was the free pass for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), which has nothing to do with fiscal responsibility much less a federal spending issue. 

The language for MVP included in the bill legislatively approves all permits necessary to complete the construction of the pipeline extending from West Virginia to Virginia.  The other mandate in the bill is that all judicial reviews of permit approvals are blocked. 

The greenlight for the MVP flies in the face of over 500 water quality and permit violations the project has accrued, the multiple delays by successful legal challenges, and significant pushback from West Virginians for nearly a decade since the pipeline was first proposed in 2014.   

Lobbied for by those who stand to profit from its completion (of course), including MVP in the debt-ceiling deal is a sneaky way to circumvent permitting requirements and prevent the public from contesting decisions in court.

One of the flimsy rationales for the MVP is based on the premise that we need a natural gas pipeline for energy independence and to meet market demands.  Suzanne Mattei with Institute for Energy Economic and Financial Analysis wrote recently, “the international export of gas is trending toward a glut rather than a shortage.” 

Furthermore Mattei points out, “Market conditions do not justify forcing decisions on both state and federal agencies under federal law or revoking the public’s right to judicial review of agency action.”

Last but not least, anyone notice changes in the weather these days?  The sun shines a bit hotter.  Flowers bloom a bit earlier.  The rain pours a bit harder.  Creeks rise a lot faster.  And just this week millions of people are breathing hazardous air from wildfires burning in Canada.  

To be sure, while the MVP is controversial, the facts and consequences of climate change are not.  Fossil fuel projects like the MVP is pouring proverbial gasoline on the fire of the climate crisis. 

In contrast to the MVP maneuver, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which passed last year could be a real game changer for West Virginia.  The IRA means massive tax incentives and federal dollars for West Virginia to invest in a clean energy economy, new jobs, and lower energy costs, all while mitigating the harms of climate change.   

The IRA is the kind of bold investments that will help keep West Virginia wild and wonderful, but the MVP and the continued reliance on fossil fuels will have detrimental impacts both in West Virginia and around the globe.  

That’s why people aren’t giving up the fight. Because future generations are depending on us to not keep making the same mistakes.  

(This appeared as an op-ed by Lida Shepherd in the Charleston Gazette-Mail a while back. Sorry for hiatus lately.)