FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline continues this week, after the company got approval to resume working on many sites in southwest Virginia.
More Franklin County landowners are complaining of runoff onto their property. One family, who lives on Cahas Mountain Road, said Tuesday that mud in one of their creeks came from a nearby construction site after heavy rain in May. They didn’t see it until this week because they don’t often walk through all 60-plus acres of their property.
"They’ve destroyed our county. It’s very sad to see what’s happened to our county. It was beautiful before," said Rachel Lowe, the property owners' daughter.
She said none of the mud that now slows down the flowing water was there prior to the May rain.
"It’s very sickening because I remember playing in these creeks when I grew up," she said.
The family lives near three other Franklin County families who are awaiting a judge's decision on a lawsuit alleging MVP construction caused mud to run onto their properties.
After the company voluntarily stopped work last month, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has since given approval for construction to begin at most of the work sites, 33 in total, including three sites in Franklin County.
A DEQ spokeswoman told 10 News Tuesday the agency has not yet heard back from MVP officials after asking for a meeting when it delivered a notice last week that the company violated erosion prevention laws.