Forest Service completes approval, again, of Mountain Valley Pipeline

The US Forest Service has for the third time approved a plan for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, still not the last step for the much-delayed Equitrans Midstream Corp. natural gas pipeline.

The Forest Service issued its record of decision on the project May 16 with heavy reliance on its April 2023 final supplemental environmental impact statement (FEIS) and elements of previous analyses and conclusions of two other agencies—the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The pipeline, most of it completed, would be a 303-mile, 42-in. OD transmission line from West Virginia, and the Forest Service’s decision was welcomed in a statement from Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

"The Forest Service has now reviewed and signed off on this project three separate times, which should provide confidence for everyone, including the courts, that the review has been exceptionally thorough," Manchin said. "While I’m pleased with the announcement from the Forest Service, the job isn’t done yet, and I will keep pushing the administration and all involved to finally complete the last 20 miles of this vital pipeline."

The court reference was an allusion to the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, and specifically a three-judge panel of that circuit that has repeatedly agreed with environmental plaintiffs on the need for more analyses of subjects such as potential erosion and sedimentation from construction of the pipeline.

The panel’s latest decision, in early April, vacated the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s water permit for the project (OGJ Online, Apr. 4, 2023).

Analyses for court

The Forest Service has now agreed to elements of FERC’s overall approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline project as lead agency for regulating interstate natural gas pipelines. The service also has concurred with BLM’s approval of a right-of-way across the Jefferson National Forest.

The service was ordered by the Fourth Circuit panel to review more data to support its conclusions. It has done so now. On the subject of erosion and sedimentation, the service noted that the data are all consistent with its conclusion that the erosion control strategies for the pipeline right-of-way are effective, as it estimated in 2020 before the court intervened.

On another point, FERC’s approval of conventional methods for boring under streams for a pipeline crossing, the Forest Service reviewed FERC’s analysis and concluded, as it had in 2020, that conventional bore crossings would result in fewer adverse environmental effects.

Equitrans looks forward

"The MVP project has almost certainly gone through more environmental review and scrutiny than any natural gas pipeline project in US history," said Thomas Karam, chief executive officer of Equitrans, as part of the company's first-quarter 2023 financial results reporting May 2.

The path to completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline during 2023 is narrower, but "we believe the possibility of commencing forward construction this summer still exists," Karam said.

"While disappointed by the Fourth Circuit Court decision to vacate MVP’s West Virginia Water Quality Certification, we were not surprised given the hostile tone of the oral argument held last October," Karam said. "We firmly believe that the issues raised in the court’s decision can and will be addressed by the West Virginia DEP."