FERC Recently Ruled MVP Can Resume Work

(Washington, D.C.) The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently ruled that Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC can resume construction on the stalled natural gas pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia.

FERC lifted a stop order that had been issued in October 2019 for all of the pipeline except for a 25-mile segment within the Jefferson National Forest in western Virginia.

FERC also gave the company another two years to 2022 to complete the project. The old certificate of public necessity expires Oct. 13.

The pipeline still needs a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to pass through the national forest. That permit is expected to be issued later this year.

Last week, eight environmental groups asked a federal appeals court to prevent construction from resuming on the $5.7 billion pipeline.

The groups filed petitions with the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

The groups asked the appeals court to halt construction until their appeals of the reissued federal permits can be heard.

Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC said it would delay any stream crossing work until Oct. 17, at the earliest.

Two key permits have been reissued in recent weeks.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ruled that the pipeline is unlikely to jeopardize threatened or endangered species.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approved permits that will allow the natural gas pipeline to cross wetlands and nearly 1,000 streams in West Virginia and Virginia.

Work was halted in October 2019 over legal challenges and permits being rescinded.

The pipeline is 92% complete and should be finished in early 2021, the company has said.

The pipeline is owned by joint-venture partners EQM Midstream Partners, NextEra US Gas Assets, Con Edison Transmission, WGL Midstream, and RGC Midstream.