Franklin County landowners settle Mountain Valley Pipeline lawsuit

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Six landowners in Franklin County have settled a federal lawsuit against Mountain Valley Pipeline, which was originally filed three years ago after they claimed a mudslide at a construction site damaged their property.

The brief filed in Roanoke’s federal court on Sept. 28 didn’t lay out the terms of the settlement.

The original lawsuit claimed that heavy rain back in May of 2018 caused mud to slide past barriers workers had in place, causing about 8 inches of mud to cover Cahas Mountain Road.

[Franklin County landowner speaks out after lawsuit filed against MVP for erosion damage]

The landowners, Wendell and Mary Flora, Glenn and Linda Firth, and Michael and France Hurt, said the runoff made its way to their property and damaged streams.

The lawsuit quotes a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality worker who said she saw a nearby stream filled with so much mud no water was flowing.

An MVP spokeswoman said after the incident that the company investigated and no streams were impacted.

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