We believe in RESPONSIBLE Energy
Our Commitment
We believe in responsible energy infrastructure that respects both environmental integrity and community needs. The Haw River Assembly stands firmly against unnecessary pipeline projects that threaten our waterways, disrupt ecosystems and endanger our communities. Through community organizing, scientific analysis and persistent advocacy, we have successfully fought against harmful projects and will continue to do so.
How We Fight Pipelines
The Haw River Assembly employs multiple strategies to oppose unnecessary pipeline projects:
Scientific Analysis: We conduct thorough reviews of environmental impact statements and provide expert testimony on water quality concerns.
Legal Advocacy: We partner with environmental law organizations to challenge flawed permits and regulatory processes.
Community Organizing: We empower local residents with information and resources to make their voices heard in regulatory processes.
Coalition Building: We work alongside environmental justice communities, landowners, and other stakeholders to build powerful alliances.
Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP): A New Threat
The Haw River Assembly is now mobilizing against a new pipeline threat to our region, and the headwaters of the Haw River. Williams Companies has proposed an enormous expansion to their existing Transcontinental (Transco) pipeline called the Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SSEP). This massive project would pump 1.6 billion cubic feet of methane gas daily through a 42-inch diameter high-pressure pipeline spanning five states, including North Carolina. The proposed route would run approximately 28 miles through Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, and Davidson Counties, threatening many of the same families and waterways already at risk from MVP Southgate. Additionally, SSEP would significantly increase capacity at gas-fired compressor stations in Iredell and Davidson Counties.
Transco has one of the worst pipeline safety records in the industry. Methane leaks from pipelines contaminate air, water, and soil, causing harmful health effects and environmental damage. The project offers no economic benefits to local communities along the route—residents would not receive gas from SSEP, few permanent jobs would be created, and property values would likely decrease. Williams Companies plans to file their application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in late 2024, with construction potentially starting in spring 2026.
In May 2024, communities in New York successfully defeated Transco's Northeast Supply Enhancement Project. This victory, along with our previous successes against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Chickahominy Pipeline, demonstrates that organized communities can stop unnecessary fossil fuel infrastructure projects. Visit nossep.org to learn more about this threat and join our resistance efforts.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Threat
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 303-mile pipeline designed to carry fracked gas from West Virginia into Virginia. The proposed MVP Southgate extension would have added 70 additional miles from southern Virginia into central North Carolina, cutting through Rockingham and Alamance counties and ending just south and east of Graham, below I-85/40.
Since learning about MVP Southgate in April 2018, the Haw River Assembly has:
- Held community meetings and sent mailings to every home along the proposed route
- Helped neighbors organize to refuse access for project surveys
- Presented at every town and county commissioners meeting along the proposed route
- Supported Alamance County's unanimous resolution opposing the project
How MVP Pipeline Threatens Our Environment and Communities
The MVP Southgate project poses specific, significant risks to our watershed and communities:
Stream and River Damage: The proposed route crosses numerous streams and tributaries in the Haw River watershed, with some plans showing it crossing the Haw River twice. Construction requires clearing all trees and vegetation from easements, leading to erosion and sedimentation that destroys aquatic habitats.
Water Quality Concerns: Pipeline construction involves blasting through rock and streams or drilling under waterways using hydraulic motors and jet nozzles. Both methods severely damage stream habitats and can impact downstream water quality.
Safety Hazards: Fracked gas is highly explosive, with multiple pipeline explosions occurring in recent years causing injuries and property damage.
Climate Impact: By allowing this pipeline into our communities, we would be committing to decades of fossil fuel use, resulting in high methane emissions and worsening climate change.
Property Rights Issues: MVP has a history of providing minimal compensation for land or using eminent domain to take property when landowners refuse.
Our Track Record of Successes with MVP
The fight against unnecessary pipelines has been long, but we've achieved significant victories:
- Successfully advocated for Alamance County commissioners to sign a unanimous resolution opposing the MVP Southgate project
- Supported Elon University student government and the town of Stoneville in passing resolutions against the project
- Helped secure critical comments from the City of Burlington opposing the project
- Mobilized 39 state legislators to sign a letter opposing the project
- Won three denials of MVP Southgate's 401 water crossing permit applications from NC DEQ, with the most recent denial in November 2020
- Helped expose the lack of demonstrated need for the project, as highlighted in NC DEQ's critical assessment
Legal Victories Against MVP
Our coalition work has led to important legal victories:
- In January 2020, the 4th Circuit Court vacated Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management authorizations for MVP crossing the Jefferson National Forest
- In May 2020, a federal judge upheld a ban on the "blanket approach" permitting process used for pipelines, requiring more thorough environmental assessments
Join Our Pipeline Resistance
Together, we have proven that organized communities can successfully challenge even the most well-funded pipeline projects. With your support, we can continue to protect the Haw River watershed from unnecessary pipeline threats.
Ways to get involved:
- Become a member of the Haw River Assembly
- Volunteer for water quality monitoring
- Attend public hearings on proposed projects
- Support our legal defense fund
- Share information with your neighbors and community
The Path Forward
As we face these new pipeline proposals, the Haw River Assembly remains vigilant. We continue to monitor attempts to resurrect the MVP Southgate project, oppose the Transco SSEP expansion and challenge legislative efforts to fast-track fossil fuel infrastructure at the expense of proper environmental review.
Our experience has shown that many proposed pipelines are not actually needed and alternative solutions exist. Through persistence and community power, we've stopped harmful projects before, and together, we will win again.