Statement of Dennis Martire, LIUNA Mid-Atlantic Vice President and Regional Manager, On NOVA Legislators and the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Natural Gas Energy Projects 

Richmond, Va. (April 18, 2018) -- In response to remarks from some Northern Virginia state legislators today regarding the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast natural gas energy projects, Dennis Martire made the following statement:

The legislators who spoke today against building clean natural gas energy infrastructure aim to distort and politicize the regulatory process, and in doing so threaten to slow America’s transition to a renewable energy economy and to take food off the tables of working class men and women in Virginia. Their statements are at best unrealistic and at worst disingenuous. Here are the facts:

• -Both the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast natural gas energy projects have passed extensive regulatory reviews at every level of government.

• -The projects will facilitate growth of clean natural gas, considered by most experts – from former President Obama to the Environmental Defense Fund– to be the ideal bridge fuel to a no-carbon future. In fact, clean natural gas accounts for a third of the recent reduction in U.S. carbon emissions.

• -The projects not only address climate change, they create needed careers for working class families. Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast will create about 6,000 jobs, which provide $20 per hour, employer-paid pensions and family healthcare, and free skills training that opens the door to new opportunities. Veterans and residents in the vicinity of the projects will benefit most due to a unique agreement with the state’s community colleges. In all, the projects will create 3 million work hours and billions of dollars in economic activity.

• -The U.S. Department of Transportation has determined that projects such as Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast are the safest and most environmentally friendly mode of transporting natural gas.

What is most revealing is these legislators call for a "stream by stream" review, echoing the step-by-step war some extremist environmentalists have used to block all energy projects. No doubt, the next thing they'll demand is a pebble-by-pebble analysis. This is clearly an attempt to politicize and distort the regulatory process. 

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As LIUNA Vice President and Mid-Atlantic Regional Manager, Martire represents 40,000 working men and women, many of whom build clean natural gas infrastructure.