SELC statement on victory for environmental justice in denial of Lambert Compressor Station permit

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Today the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board denied a permit for the Lambert Compressor Station, which would have supported a proposed extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline called MVP Southgate. In response to the announcement, SELC Senior Attorney Mark Sabath released the following statement:

“We are pleased that the Air Board recognized the health risks that the Lambert Compressor Station posed to communities in the area, including communities of color. Today’s decision is a victory for environmental justice and for the residents of Pittsylvania County.”

The Lambert Compressor Station was designed to support the MVP Southgate pipeline, which carries methane, a greenhouse gas with 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The station itself was projected to emit more than 125,000 tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent greenhouse gases each year alone.

Virginia committed last year to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its power sector by 30 percent by 2030, and eliminating them altogether by 2050. The Biden administration has gone further, calling for a carbon-free electricity grid by 2035.