US Forest Service officials authorized organizers of the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) project to survey two additional areas of Jefferson National Forest in Giles and Montgomery counties of Virginia for a possible pipeline route.
The proposed $3.2 billion MVP would be an interstate natural gas pipeline running about 300 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia. Plans call for EQT Midstream Partners LP to operate the high-pressure pipeline through a joint venture.
If authorized by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, MVP would be constructed and owned by Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC, which is a joint venture of EQT Midstream, NextEra US Gas Assets LLC, WGL Midstream, and Vega Midstream MVP LLC.
In early October, MVP announced RGC Midstream LLC, a subsidiary of RGC Resources Inc. planned to acquire a 1% ownership interest in MVP. In addition, Roanoke Gas Co. agreed to become a shipper on the pipeline in order to supply and expand its southwest Virginia customer base.
MVP organizers planned to submit an application to FERC during October.
USFS supervisor comments
In a news release, Tom Speaks, USFS supervisor in Roanoke County for the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, said the survey authorization "does not mean I am allowing the construction of a pipeline across the Jefferson National Forest."
MVP had said it was seeking an alternative route to try and avoid "sensitive geologic features" such as sinkholes and caves that also would bypass the Preston Forest subdivision.
Speaks authorized route surveying for the proposed pipeline after soliciting public comment about whether to allow MVP crews to survey additional sections of the forest. Previously, USFS received thousands of comments that opposed pipeline route surveying in the forest.
MVP organizers expect to provide at least 2 bcfd firm transmission capacity from the Marcellus and Utica production areas to markets across the Atlantic regions.
The MVP will extend the Equitrans transmission system in Wetzel County, West Virginia, to Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Co.'s (Transco) Zone 5 compressor station 165 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.
As currently planned, the pipeline will be up to 42 in. and will require 75 ft of permanent easement (with 125 ft of temporary easement during construction). In addition, the project will require up to four compressor stations, of which the design, size, and location will be determined once the route is finalized.
The Blue Ridge Land Conservancy in late September asked Gov. Terry McAuliffe to work with the state lawmakers to ensure the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has the resources needed to monitor pipeline construction.
