CHARLESTON, W.Va. — State regulators are taking a step back in their recent approval of a water quality order for the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The Department of Environmental Protection announced Thursday that it “hereby vacates and remands” its water quality certification for the natural gas pipeline to reevaluate the order’s compliance with the federal Clean Water Act.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline would run about 300 miles from Northwestern West Virginia to Southern Virginia. The pipeline originates in Wetzel County, enters into Harrison, Doddridge, Lewis, Braxton, Webster, Nicholas, Greenbrier, Fayette, Summers, and Monroe counties before crossing into Virginia.
The water certification for the approximately $3.5 billion project will undergo further review by the DEP “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a recent statement from DEP spokesperson Jacob Glance to WVVA-TV.
The original order is facing numerous legal challenges from environmental groups opposed to the pipeline’s construction in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.