Environmental Damage

Some of the most urgent issues in our area have to do with current business and government activities that cause environmental impacts borne by local communities. Read below for more information on major “hot button” sources of environmental impacts in our area.

  • The partially constructed Mountain Valley Pipeline transects our region and is being developed to convey natural gas from West Virginia to Pittsylvania, VA. This link connects to the pipeline owner’s informational site. This link connects to Appalachian Voices’ site about the project with links to permits, current status, and a description of problems with the pipeline’s development process. Mountain Valley Watch is a “collaboration of volunteers and experts who observe, document, and report environmental compliance” of the pipeline on their Facebook page.

  • The Radford Army Ammunition Plant (known locally as the “Arsenal”) was built in the 1940’s to supply ammunition for World War II. It presently is the only supplier of military propellant in the U.S. Its operations include open burning and a hazardous waste incinerator, which require multiple environmental permits and ongoing monitoring described here. Two local groups that work toward holding the Arsenal accountable for public health and environmental impact are Citizens for Arsenal Accountability and Hold Radford Arsenal Accountable. A recent NPR article about the plant links its emissions to health problems of local citizens including pulmonary fibrosis.