Protestors stopping the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline were arrested in Greenbrier County.
The two were arrested on Friday, Aug. 6, and identified as Anna Grace Woolly, 19, of Viles, NC, and Thomas George Tackett, 25, of Jackson, MO.
According to a press release from the Greenbrier County Sheriff Bruce Sloan “officers found two individuals had secured themselves to pipeline construction equipment using welded pipe and chains. Both individuals were located below the ground surface in a hole.”
“Repeated requests were made for the two people to remove themselves from the equipment and they refused to do so. Members of the Clintonville and Smoot Fire Departments were requested to respond to the scene to assist with the extraction. One of the individuals voluntarily climbed out of the hole once their attachments were removed. The second person refused to do so and was lifted out of the hole by members of the fire department utilizing a stokes basket.”
According to the social media page Appalachians Against Pipelines, the pair blocked construction of the pipeline, slated to pass under I-64, for two and a half hours. Woolly and Tackett gave a joint statement:
“In the expansive timeline of industrial extraction, halting work for a single day might feel molecular, but today’s action is anything but isolated. Today’s action stands in community with all that has transpired, all those that will continue to resist, painting a larger picture of the resiliency of grassroots organizing in Appalachia and the overwhelming value of direct action in rural spaces. … As pipeline construction intrudes upon the ground under the pads of our feet, we are reminded of the long history of rural communities, of Appalachian flora and fauna reduced to a mere commodity for the sake of bolstering a capitalistic agenda. … We have chosen resistance and we hope that you, whoever you may be, do too—there is truly no halting a people enraged.”
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| Photo courtesy of Appalachians Against Pipelines |
Both individuals were charged with trespass on property, obstructing an officer, and conspiracy. They were arraigned before a Greenbrier County Magistrate. According to Appalachians Against Pipelines, bail was set at $5,000 and $7,500.
According to Mountain Valley Pipeline’s website, the project developers expect:
— “Ongoing operation of the pipeline would support a total of 54 jobs across the state with average annual wages and benefits of $65,000.”
— “The MVP project is expected to generate $3.7 million in annual county ad valorem taxes (property taxes) once the pipeline is in service.”
— There will be direct-use benefits for “residential, commercial, and municipal” properties. “While natural gas generally is available in the major towns in the county, Greenbrier’s residents use primarily electricity (47%) for home heating with only 20% using natural gas. This large discrepancy presents a potentially large savings opportunity for the residential, commercial, and municipal sectors by switching to natural gas. In 2014, delivered gas prices were less than half the cost of delivered electricity prices. The MVP project could help enable switching and provide additional supplies to service these sectors.”
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| The proposed MVP route map. |
Members of the WV State Police, Clintonville Fire Department and Smoot Fire Department provided on-scene assistance.
