State lawmakers urge Northam to halt work on Mountain Valley Pipeline amid pandemic

ROANOKE, Va – Some state lawmakers are calling on Governor Ralph Northam to put a halt on work scheduled to take place on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

More than 20 legislators signed a letter urging work stop as pipeline officials recently announced 4,000 workers will be brought into Virginia and West Virginia to continue work on the project. Roanoke Senator John Edwards signed the letter and said bringing in these workers could potentially cause a spike in coronavirus cases in the area.

“Craig and Giles County, for example, don’t have any ICU beds. Pittsylvania county has no ICU beds, so we have inadequate facilities to take care of this problem,” Virginia Senator John Edwards said.

Edwards said the letter could come up during the general assembly’s special session set to begin August 18.

Copy of letter sent to Governor Northam urging work to be halted on the Mountain Valley Pipeline. (Copyright 2020 by WSLS 10 - All rights reserved.)

About the Author

Annie Schroeder joined the 10 News team as a reporter in June 2020 and is no stranger to Southwest Virginia.

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