Tensions flare when Mountain Valley Pipeline crews cut trees at Giles Co. trout stream
GILES Co., Va. (WSET) - There was a brief showdown in Giles County Thursday when a homeowner stopped a crew working with the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The crew came to knock down trees over the stream on Cascade Drive and Shawn Hash said he'd had enough.
"It doesn't make you feel good at all," Hash said.
He'd spent a long time looking for the perfect place to raise a family.
"Got a trout stream, got a couple hundred acres, kids, dogs run free. It's just kind of a dream," he said.
Hash says crews crossed the line when they began cutting trees around the trout stream.
"We were told that they were going to bore completely underneath it and say the Iberian buffer and the view, because that protects us from Cascade Drive. And then come to find out the other day, that's not the case," He said, stating the area is a protected wetland.
Officials with the Mountain Valley Pipeline sent a statement, saying:
Tree cutting activity on behalf of Mountain Valley Pipeline is occurring within the project’s approved and permitted construction right-of-way.
After Hash talked to his lawyer and State Police, he let crews get back to work.
"DEQ is not helping us, and they're saying Army Corp has to do it. We feel like we're here by ourselves. We assume that government is here to help us and we really feel let down," Hash said.
The proposed route has the pipeline going through Giles County, Craig County, Roanoke County, Montgomery County, Pittsylvania County, and Franklin County.
For information on the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, click here.
The DEQ did not respond to a request for comment.
