In a letter on August 16, 2018, Governor Ralph Northam’s Advisory Council on Environmental Justice called for a stay on all further permits for the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines. Blue Virginia reports that the Council recommended an Emergency Task Force on Environmental Justice in Gas Infrastructure to review and address the evidence it has found of “disproportionate impacts for people of color and for low-income populations due to gas infrastructure expansion.”

Dr. Mary Finley-Brook, a member of the council states that, “Given the evidence the Advisory Council cites in the letter, it is clear that if the Governor and state regulators are committed to environmental safety and justice they must put an immediate halt to Union Hill Compressor Station and ACP permitting until community risks and safety concerns can be addressed in a meaningful way.”

Read the letter from the Advisory Council on Environmental Justice here.