In 2018, construction on the 303-mile fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline began in Virginia and West Virginia. Then, MVP announced plans to extend the unfinished mainline 70-miles into North Carolina via the MVP Southgate Extension, which would require a massive, polluting compressor station in a predominately Black community near Chatham, VA. Construction on Southgate will only begin if the compressor station gets approved, and NC DEQ has denied necessary permits multiple times on the grounds of the Clean Water Act.
As of spring 2023, MVP construction has involved over 500 violations of permit conditions, laws, and regulations, and almost 75% of the route slices through 'moderate-high' or 'high' landslide risk terrain. Key permits are being withheld at the state and federal levels.
Disturbingly, the Biden Admin has publicly approved the pipeline, and fossil-fuel-backed politicians across the aisle like Sen. Joe Manchin are attempting to pass legislation disguised as "permitting reform" that would fast-track the MVP, and gut bedrock environmental laws and community protections like NEPA and the Clean Water Act.
Since fall 2022, frontline communities have risen up united and helped defeat these attempts 4 times and counting. We need your help to keep up the fight!
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We are leading a long-haul effort to bring the Indigenous-led Rights of Nature Movement to NC.. We will start by advancing Rights of Nature legislation for the Haw River in the NC General Assembly, as well as at the municipal level. By fostering cultural shift towards the Indigenous and Earth-honoring values at the heart of the movement through advocacy, outreach, media campaigns and education, we know we will build the base necessary to achieve our goals.
Visit our Rights of Nature page to learn more and get involved.
The Yésa Gardens serves as a space for re-establishing Indigenous agricultural and cultural practices and teachings, and hosting opportunities for youth and leadership development. Working towards expanding the Gardens and community spaces on our newly acquired land is intwined with environmental justice and slowing the climate crisis, as it's well understood that the solutions we seek already exist within the foundation of Indigenous cultures. For these practices to take root again, we need to put LandBack into Indigenous hands.