Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP) received US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) affirmation that it could resume work on a 17-mile stretch of the pipeline near Jefferson National Forest in Virginia. Work elsewhere on the 303-mile, 2-bcfd natural gas pipeline, however, remains suspended pending new permits for work in waterways and wetlands.
Sierra Club and other environmental groups had requested both a stay on work near the national forest and a rehearing of FERC’s December 2020 action lifting previous stop-work orders. FERC rejected these requests on a 3-2 vote, ruling that work could continue despite missing permits because those permits had been vacated after work had begun.
MVP received its original certificate from FERC in October 2017. A condition of that certificate—Environmental Condition 9—required it to show that it had all permits required under federal law before it could begin construction. On Jan. 22, 2018, FERC authorized MVP to begin construction after finding it had satisfied that condition. The US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals subsequently vacated some of those permits.
The pipeline is a joint venture of EQM Midstream Partners LP, NextEra Capital Holdings Inc., Con Edison Transmission Inc., WGL Midstream, and RGC Midstream LLC.