Category Archives: Uncategorized

No to the Pipeline(s): The Documentary

Just a note to make you aware that the ongoing story of Appalachian resistance to natural gas pipelines has been serially documented and is available for viewing at a new page on this site–under Why NO Pipelines.

Any new chapters (and we all hope there will not be many more before the energy companies relent) can be viewed by clicking this blue button on the Preserve Floyd webpage.

And you should check out the citizen engagement at a recent FERC meeting:

SAVE OUR WATER! No Eminent Domain for Personal Gain! Watch the videos from right here in Virginia.

 

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Community Meeting: Sunday, Dec. 14th at the June Bug Center

Please join us for a gathering that is sure to be filled with creative, unexpected twists and turns and a rousing group of active citizens.
 

Preserve Floyd: Citizens Preserving Floyd County will host a community meeting at the June Bug Center on Sunday, December 14 from 3-5 PM.

Please join us to explore how we can preserve, protect and enhance the environment of Floyd County, how we can proactively work together to address any future threats that might come our way, and how we can support our friends and neighbors in surrounding counties in their work to keep the dangerous and unwelcome Mountain Valley Pipeline out of their communities.

Citizens Preserving Floyd County is a grassroots community endeavor that intends to listen, respond to and participate with the citizens of Floyd. We want to hear your ideas for the future. We want your voices in the mix and your presence at the table. We’d love your help if you have volunteer time you’d like to offer!

We intend to foster discussion about how we can continue to PRESERVE FLOYD and also help to Preserve Roanoke County, Preserve the NRV, Preserve Franklin, Preserve Giles, Preserve Pittsylvania, Preserve Montgomery, Preserve Virginia and West Virginia and safeguard our resources as a global community.
NOT IN OUR WATERSHED.WHAT WE STAND ON IS WHAT WE STAND FOR.

COMMUNITY IS STRONGER THAN CORPORATIONS.

STOP THE PIPELINES!

Sunday, December 14 from 3-5 PM at The June Bug Center. 

We hope very much to see you there.

You can RSVP to the event and find more information HERE.

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Understanding Your Legal Rights – Mountain Valley Pipeline

Important upcoming event!

Understanding Your Legal Rights – Mountain Valley Pipeline

October 28 @ 7:00 pm

Joe Lovett (Executive Director of Appalachian Mountain Advocates), Isaac Howell (a FERC expert in Roanoke), and Elise Keaton (director of Keeper of the Mountains Foundation in WV) will be here to provide information specifically on the Mountain Valley Pipeline as to how we can proceed and helping us understand our legal rights (although they cannot solicit legal clients or recommend specific legal counsel). They can provide us information on how to proceed with FERC as well as other government agencies involved in regulating natural gas distribution. They will also be able to assist us in organizing locally and with other groups they are helping in Virginia and West Virginia. While their presentation is free, donations to fund their work as a non-profit are appreciated.

http://preservethenrv.com/event/understanding-your-legal-rights-re-mountain-valley-pipeline/

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An Open Letter to the Floyd County Board of Supervisors

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Dear Mr. Yoder, Mr. Allen, Mr. Clinger, Mr. Turman, and Mr. Gerald:

When my family moved to the Floyd/Carroll county line in 1979, it was in part because my parents chose to abandon a middle-class lifestyle in North Carolina that they could have pursued in a way that achieved some people’s perceptions of “The American Dream.” My father had a good job at the Research Triangle Institute in Raleigh, NC. He left that position and everything it gave us in terms of financial and social stability and took his family to a small farmhouse with no electricity or running water—until we installed a hand pump—on the banks of Deepwater Creek out in Indian Valley. At nine years old, I learned how to operate a wood cook stove, how to wash clothes in a wringer-washer, how to carry water for a family of five (and how to conserve water for the rest of my life as a result), and how to live with the confusion and judgment of our extended family because many of them could not understand the circumstances that led my parents to make such a seemingly extreme—some would even say irresponsible—decision.

After working in the sawmills and the hayfields, and a few other jobs that required hard labor and honest effort, my father was hired as the coordinator for Citizens for the Preservation of Floyd County. The struggle to keep the 765 KV power lines out of Floyd had been ongoing for a few years already and when dad got involved, most of the community was already aware that APCO planned to build these giant lines that would carry coal-powered electricity from WV to NOVA. What my father did, so far as I can recall, was to bring the community together and help to organize the resistance that was ultimately unsuccessful in keeping the lines out but remarkably successful in bringing the community together. To this day those giant power lines are, to my knowledge, the only existing energy infrastructure in Floyd County that are not related directly to Floyd County’s energy needs.

Most of you probably knew my father, Wayne Bradburn, or you may know of him. Over the years he participated in the community in various ways, including a job as the small business incubator manager at the Jacksonville Center, working for the 2000 census, and a brief stint with the Ruritan Club.

When I began to lead the effort to keep the Mountain Valley Pipeline out of Floyd, my father was a huge inspiration to me. Though he did what he had to do over the years to keep his family afloat, his professional decisions were never based on profit. He did not ever choose to own land, claiming that his moral and ethical position was that land is not something that can be owned by anyone, that we all have a responsibility to be stewards for the earth upon which we reside. Wayne died five years ago. It is, perhaps, unreasonable to claim that your father was also your best friend, but I truly felt that way about my dad. As a widow and a single parent, he was not only a friend and father to me; he also played a very large role in the upbringing of my daughter. It took me a very long time—and a great deal of community support—to “recover” from that loss.

I’m giving you this background so that you can, perhaps, understand a little bit about why the work I have done over the last few months has been motivated by a true love for community and for the remaining authenticity of the people and the work of Floyd, in the sense that we still carry on some of that heritage. There are those who are still working horses, cooking with wood or choosing to build homes that do not conform to the “standards” that most Americans choose to live by. Most people in Floyd have a deep respect for the earth, whether they consider themselves environmentalists (a word that has some unfortunate associations) or simply people who value and intend to protect the land that they live on.

Floyd also has some unusual alliances and relationships, and though there are certainly different “segments” of the community, I believe that when push comes to shove, there’s a valuable and unusual willingness to come together in support of a common goal in a way that transcends personal ideologies, lifestyles or choices.

This is what I have witnessed over the last few months as the director of Citizens Preserving Floyd County. Everyone has been willing to pitch in. We’ve worked together in a manner that does not always seem possible in other communities; though I hope that perhaps it is something we are learning, as a society, to pursue. Though this country was founded on independence, our system of government, at its best, encourages inter-dependence.

Though I have voted in every election possible since I was eighteen and participated in social movements of various sorts from the time I was twelve, I have never felt so much like I was truly interacting and participating in local government until now. You have all been incredible. I have felt from the beginning like everyone here was really listening, genuinely concerned, and actually committed to representing and supporting the interests of Floyd. There has been an open line of communication, a legitimate sharing of resources, and you have all challenged any cynicism I held about special interests, greed, deception or corruption. I am an admitted idealist—and though I think of myself as a practical idealist, I still recognize that my idealism has contributed to my perception of the entire situation in an as-yet-undetermined manner. For example, when I go to the Roanoke Board of Supervisors meeting this afternoon, I will approach them as allies, not as enemies. Until I know differently, I will assume that the information and perspective I have to share will be one that is valued, heard and potentially acted upon. This may or may not be true, but it is you who have given me the foundation to stand on that allows me to believe that is possible, and for that, I offer you the deepest of appreciation. You’ve gone above and beyond. Thank you.

As we move beyond the initial threat of the Mountain Valley Pipeline ripping through Floyd County, many of us involved in the resistance are committed to being emissaries for the surrounding region. We have so much to share that we’ve gathered over the last few months and we’re willing to assist them in their own struggle. Preserve Floyd: Citizens Preserving Floyd County (PF: CPFC) has become a chapter of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League (BREDL) and we are working with this organization to learn how to effectively identify and address threats to our environment. What is perhaps unique about PF: CPFC is that we do not limit our definition of the environment to the ecosystem or the natural resources we have in abundance here in Floyd. We’re also considering our cultural heritage and our way of life, and looking at ways we can support and encourage that growth and preservation as environmental advocates.

At this point, we have a lot of refiguring and reframing to do, and we welcome your participation in the dialogue so that we can continue to serve the community to the best of our ability.

When it was announced that the pipeline would no longer be routed through Floyd, it was a bittersweet “victory” for me. What I know now about the fracking industry, the sustainability of these proposed high-pressure transport lines and the issues of injustice that surround these sorts of projects are things I cannot ever not know again. Though the proposed route does not pass over our county line, it now could potentially affect our neighbors in Bent Mountain and Montgomery County. My personal decision is to continue my efforts to ensure that EQT, an irresponsible, disrespectful and incredibly corrupt corporation, does not build this pipeline at all. But I did have a moment when I realized that we did, indeed, win. The power lines made it through despite my father’s best efforts, but the pipeline did not. And I know that he is smiling about that and patting me—and Floyd County—on the back.

Because I have been the public face and the voice for this movement, I am getting a lot of credit for what’s happened. It was not me, though. It was Floyd. Hundreds of citizens who have contributed in whatever ways they could—yourselves included—and honestly, one of my biggest challenges over the past few months was to find something for everyone to do. So many, many people have offered their minds, hearts and shoulders. So many voices have been included in my public statements. It has been—and will continue to be—an honor to serve my community in this way. I hope that you will help us to determine the best manner in which Preserve Floyd: Citizens Preserving Floyd County can continue to benefit the community as we move forward.

 

Sincerely,

 

Mara Eve Robbins

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Joe Waldo’s Town Hall Canceled, EQT in Roanoke Tuesday

Preserve Floyd extends our deepest appreciation to all of you who contributed to the effort to keep the Mountain Valley Pipeline out of Floyd. We did it! And as we celebrate our success, we also remember: “Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.”- Winston Churchill

Due to the shifting circumstances here in Floyd County, Joe Waldo has decided to cancel his town hall meeting on eminent domain that was planned for next Tuesday, October 14, and move it to Montgomery or Roanoke County in the near future. We will update you as soon as we know details.

Though Floyd was spared, this fracked gas pipeline is still too close for comfort. And if you are still interested in letting EQT know how you feel about their corrupt policies, their contributions to political campaigns and their dangerous and irresponsible environmental practices that have led to a 4.5 million dollar lawsuit, please feel free to show up on Tuesday for the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors Meeting at 3 PM.

From the roanokecountyva.gov website:

“In September 2014, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, a joint venture partnership between affiliates of EQT Corporation and NextEra Energy, contacted Roanoke County Administration about consideration of a portion of Roanoke County for a possible corridor for a natural gas pipeline.

Although the County has no regulatory role in the approval process as it is controlled by the federal government through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), some of our citizens may receive notifications that EQT would like access to their property to look at the feasibility of the proposed location.”

A briefing on this matter is scheduled for the Tuesday, October 14 Board of Supervisors Meeting, 3:00 p.m., Roanoke County Administration Center, 5204 Bernard Drive. EQT will be present at this meeting. If you would like to register to speak during the public comment period, email Deborah Jacks at djacks@roanokecountyva.gov.

The new route takes the Mountain Valley Pipeline through the Bent Mountain area, which is actually much closer to our friends and neighbors in Copper Hill than it was before. We must be diligent, compassionate, and support our neighboring communities in whatever way we can.

Thank you for continuing to prove that community is stronger than corrupt corporations.

Power to the people!

 

 

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Landowner’s Meeting on Thursday, October 9 at 6 PM

We will be holding a landowner’s meeting this coming Thursday, October 9th  at the Floyd Country Store at 6 PM. Please enter through the side door to the left of the store. The meeting will be upstairs.

This meeting is open to any and all affected landowners along the proposed route for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and is intended specifically for those who have received letters from EQT/Coates or who’ve gotten a call from them identifying them as potentially affected by the Mountain Valley Pipeline project. We welcome affected landowners from surrounding counties to join us in Floyd if they wish.

We are hoping to set up a network of landowners to better pinpoint
the route, establish needs specific to landowners, and ensure that everyone receives information to help them deal with this issue. The route has moved so there is likely a new group of landowners.

This will also help us to prepare for the town hall meeting on October 14 at 7 PM at Floyd County High School auditorium. There will be a public presentation by Joe Waldo of Waldo & Lyle, eminent domain attorneys. This is open to all and will consist of a 45 minute presentation followed by Q&A.

The Board of Supervisors will meet with EQT on Oct. 28 at 7 PM at the Floyd County High School for the public part of the supervisors’ meeting. No public questions will be allowed, so contact your supervisor to pass on your concerns and questions. Only those on the board will be able to ask questions.  There is a public comment period at the beginning of the meeting and we encourage all of you to prepare a written statement if you’d like to express your concerns.

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Pledge of Resistance

We, the undersigned, are concerned citizens who urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and our federal, state, and local political leaders to act now to prevent the proposed Mountain Valley pipeline from being installed through Floyd County, Virginia.

Sign and share our petition here.

What we stand on is what we stand for. Spread the word.

what we stand on is what we stand for

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28 COUNTIES DRINK OUR WATER, WASH THEIR BABIES, GROW THEIR FOOD

IMG_0089GreenHoleGooseCreek980

Looking out from the top of Polly’s Garden
I could barely see the Buffalo
3rd day straight of the end of summer’s rain
wondering where the lifetimes go

This ain’t the first time
our land has been forsaken
it’s what this fine nation
was founded on

If I look close enough
I can still see the blood on my hands
forgive me God,
I’m ready to steward your land

28 counties drink our water
wash their babies, grow their food
from these headwaters it flows ten thousand miles
ain’t no time to sit and brood

‘Cause we got trouble in the mountain valley
this is bigger than our backyard
this is raping all that we’ve come to preserve
time to join hands both near and far

Nelson County, Franklin and Montgomery,
Rockbridge River, the James and the New
protect our lifeline, keep our waters pristine
we owe our children, we owe it to you

This ain’t about money
it goes much deeper
our bodies are water
the rivers our veins

Our hearts are wider
than the deepest lakes in this land
let’s stand for something
let’s stake our claims

From West Virginia
to Pittsylvania
let’s stretch our arms
longer than their line

We are caretakers
there’s nothing here you can touch
our crystal palace
is nothing you can buy

So drink deeply
and feel the sustenance
let Gods love
pour over you

We’re being called upon
there’s nothing greater than this
raise your hands and ask what you can do
raise your hands and ask what you can do

Raise our hands
it’s up to me and you

http://www.wsls.com/story/26636386/bigmama-joy

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Excellent Presentations by Preserve the NRV on the Mt Valley Pipeline

This is the video of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors meeting on September 22. Wil and Angela Stanton were on the agenda with Elizabeth McCommon to inform the supervisors about the Mountain Valley Pipeline and the negative impacts it will have on Montgomery County and the NRV. Elizabeth’s presentation begins 6 minutes into the video and Wil and Angela’s presentation begins at just under the 16 minute mark. After the presentation, you will also be able to watch comments from concerned citizens (beginning at the 40 minute mark) who were able to share their perspectives with the board.

 
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Our First Newsletter!

Our first newsletter was delivered to many of you last night!

If you use gmail, you may need to check your promotions tab and approve the address in order to have it sent directly to your inbox. You may also want to check your spam folder if you use a different email server.

Here is a copy for those of you who have not signed up for the newsletter here on our website or given us your request at an event.

PRESERVE FLOYD: CITIZENS PRESERVING FLOYD COUNTY NEWSLETTER SEPTEMBER 2014

Thanks so much for your patience with Preserve Floyd: Citizens Preserving Floyd Countyas we compiled this newsletter for you. There’s been a lot to keep up with and we appreciate that you’ve kept yourself informed through our website, our Facebook page and each other in the meantime. We intend to have updates via email more frequently as we move forward.

The environment is on everyone’s mind right now as the largest ever “People’s Climate March” strode through NYC and the issue entered into the dialogue in a more urgent manner. The Mountain Valley pipeline is the dragon standing on OUR mountain right now, and it is its own beast—but it’s also part of climate change. It’s intended to carry fracked gas and it deserves to be seen as a part of this larger issue. As we come together and agree to work towards sustainable energy solutions and to be environmental advocates for the continued health and well-being of our community, we also commit to work together to protect this land that we all love.

That means: STOP THE PIPELINE.

Here are some important upcoming events and we’ll share more as we create more:

  • On September 28, Sustain Floyd will be presenting the film “Gasland 2 .” Preserve Floyd will be represented there to share information, answer questions and educate ourselves and each other. Doors will open at 6 PM for food and conversation. A donation of $5 is requested for the movie and an additional $5 for the dinner The film will start around 6:30 to 6:45 PM.
  • Joe Waldo, a lawyer specializing in eminent domain, will visit Floyd on October 14. You can come see him—and ask questions – at the Floyd County High School at 7 PM.
  • Representatives from EQT will be attending the Floyd County Board of Supervisors meeting on October 28 at 7 PM. The meeting will be held at the Floyd County High School Auditorium.
  • Between now and October 28, citizens are encouraged to come to the Floyd Artisan’s Market on Fridays from 5-7 PM to create signs, sing songs and practice for the spectacle we’d like to present to EQT as they roll into town.

For those of you who want to help, we want you to know that there’s a lot you CAN do to help! We are just figuring out (as quickly as possible!) what, where, when and how. So keep asking and keep offering and keep sharing information.

One thing EVERYONE can do is to talk to your neighbors.

Pass this newsletter along. Keep updated on Facebook and share links, graphics and good connections. Join the Mountain-Valley Pipeline or the Virginians Against Pipelines discussion groups and engage. Social media is helping this movement tremendously. And if you know of landowners who might not have access to the internet, print out a copy of our landowner’s handbook or any other pertinent online information.

And write letters! We have a new “Letters to the Editor Toolkit” on our website that will help with that. Coming soon: A similar toolkit to assist with writing letters to politicians. The more the better. The more personal the better. And letters—actual letters—make much more of an impression than emails these days.

The very deepest of appreciation to each and every one of you who have attended community meetings, signed petitions, lent a hand at events and are committed to keeping yourself informed, active and participating. It is inspiring and encouraging to live in a community where so many people want to be involved.

Confluence: Water and the Pipeline

BY FRED FIRST

Many of you attended the showing of “To the Last Drop,” the locally-filmed Floyd County water documentary shown at the Eco-village on September 14.The ideas and interviews for that film started in the summer of 2013 long before there was any knowledge of Mountain Valley’s proposed interstate pipeline.So it was well timed that Partnership for Floyd’s efforts culminated with the premier showing at just the time that our water–and that of all impacted and down-stream counties–was rising to the top of Preserve Floyd’s concerns.

We began to consider the impact of natural gas pipelines on the water across more than 800 miles of landscape threatened by the combined length of Mountain Valley and the Atlantic Coast Pipelines.

While our attention still resonates with voices, places, hopes and concerns from the movie, let me just say a bit more about water as we continue to be vigilant against any forces or agencies that put tomorrow’s water at risk.

Towards that end, I’ll share a “this I believe” kind of statement I wrote recently in the process of trying to distill my thoughts:

Ninety-five percent of Floyd County residents get their water from wells. From an injury to any one, other neighbors can suffer. So we are vigilant to protect our ground and surface waters today, even as we also look ahead. Adequate clean water in our county is a right, far into the future, that we are not willing to put at risk. And as we care for the water that falls on this plateau, we are also mindful of its quality as it passes through communities between here and the Gulf or the Atlantic. Ultimately, water is a shared necessity to life that we care for together across space and across time.

Our actions to insure that our waters are protected today become a legacy of reliable water for generations to come. Water, adequate and clean, is a right, not a commodity. We are committed to the water commons, and resist any threats to it, from whatever source they might come.

Consider carefully these ten water-commons principles. They guide us towards sustained water stewardship that we stand FOR. The current frenzy of unsustainable over-building of natural gas wells, holding ponds and pipeline construction right-of-ways are not consistent with these water principles, and represent values, purposes, methods and ends that we stand AGAINST.

 

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