​What: Letter Delivery for People’s Pipeline Protest

​When: Thursday, September 14 at 12 p.m.

Where: Abingdon Department of Environmental Quality Office, 355 Deadmore St. SE, Abingdon, VA 24210

Abingdon, Va. — The Washington County Chapter of Virginia Organizing will meet at the Abingdon office of the Department of Environmental Quality on Thursday, September 14 at 12 p.m. to deliver letters to Governor Terry McAuliffe opposing his administration’s pro-fracking and pro-pipeline policies. This event is part of the statewide People’s Pipeline Protest.

“These pipelines threaten our natural resources and health,” said Jason Von Kundra, local Washington County farmer and Virginia Organizer member. “As farmers, we understand the importance of using the land responsibly. For the sake of future generations, we call on Governor McAuliffe to do the right thing.”

The Governor and his DEQ have responsibility under the Clean Water Act to make companies prove that water quality standards will be met if the pipelines are built. But the DEQ has refused to do this. The agency’s review of the harm that will result from crossing over a thousand Virginia streams and blasting away miles upon miles of steep mountain slopes is incomplete. The goal of the September 14 letter delivery in Abingdon is simply to ask the Governor to fulfill his responsibilities under the Clean Water Act.

“I will be there because I think building pipelines and fracking are a terrible and short-sighted solution to our energy problems,” said Karen Shaffer, a Washington County resident and Virginia Organizing leader. “Fracking here, drilling there, it’s all finite and very destructive. Indeed, it’s way past time to put it all behind us. We know better.”

Virginia Organizing is a non-partisan statewide grassroots organization that brings people together to create a more just Virginia.

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