Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) LLC has been granted 3 extra years by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to complete its 75-mile Southgate Extension project. The extension would run from Pittsylvania County, Va., south to Rockingham and Alamance Counties, NC, and now must be completed by June 18, 2026.
On June 15, 2023, MVP requested the extension, citing delays associated with constructing the main system. The company asserted that good cause existed for an extension, as it had been prevented from completing Southgate due to the terms of its June 2020 certificate, which tied its construction with continued work on the main pipeline.
Legal challenges to Mountain Valley’s permitting have led to repeated delays in work on the 303-mile, 2-bcfd pipeline. Construction began in 2018 and is more than 94% complete. As of Dec. 7, 2023, 287.6 miles of the pipeline’s route had been backfilled and 103.7 miles hydrotested.
June passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 ratified and approved all authorizations for construction and operation of Mountain Valley and directed all relevant agencies to maintain those authorizations. MVP subsequently filed its extension request, citing what it had described as the “cascading series of delays” surrounding the main project.
Southgate’s state permitting remains incomplete.