Mountain Valley Pipeline, a major natural gas project running through West Virginia and prominently backed by the state’s U.S. senators, has been granted four more years to move toward completion.
Members of the U.S. Federal Energy Commission on Tuesday granted a motion requesting a four year extension, until Oct. 13, 2026, to put the pipeline in service. The previous deadline to complete the project had been this coming Oct. 13.
The $6.6 billion pipeline project first got authorization from FERC that same date in 2017.
The pipeline’s developers have said its construction is near completion, but it has faced multiple legal challenges to its permits. Many of those hurdles, such as authorization to construct in the Jefferson National Forest, remain in play.
“Mountain Valley asserts that good cause exists for an extension as the project is substantially complete and is actively working to reinstate all required permits,” FERC wrote in its order this week.
Members of the commission agreed, concluding that “Mountain Valley has made a good faith effort to meet its deadline, but has encountered circumstances that prevented it from doing so.”
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has pushed for the time and flexibility to complete the project, intertwining that desire with his support for major Biden administration initiatives that came to be called the Inflation Reduction Act. Manchin is the Senate Energy Committee chairman and also a key vote in the evenly-split Senate.
Asked for the senators reaction today, his office pointed toward earlier statements in support of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The statement was a request by West Virginia’s congressional delegation, including Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., for FERC to approve the project’s timeline extension.
“At a time when energy prices are soaring, it is imperative that FERC works to accelerate the development of domestic energy infrastructure so that Americans may have access to a reliable and affordable supply of natural gas,” members of the delegation wrote.
“We therefore urge FERC to support the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and approve its pending request for a four-year extension.”
The Mountain Valley Pipeline extends 42-inch diameter natural gas pipeline over 303 miles to transport West Virginia natural gas into southern Virginia.
The project goes through Greenbrier, Monroe, Nicholas, Summers, Braxton, Harrison, Lewis, Webster and Wetzel counties.
EQM Midstream Partners, which holds a major share in the project, will own and operate the pipeline. That company said it is pleased by FERC’s unanimous order.
“Capacity for MVP remains fully subscribed under long-term, binding contracts, and the project is strongly supported by a broad coalition of elected federal, state and local officials; state chambers of commerce and other business groups; landowners; public utilities; natural gas producers; and other non-governmental organizations,” stated Natalie Cox, a company spokeswoman.
“MVP is being recognized as a critical infrastructure project that is essential for our nation’s energy security, energy reliability, and ability to effectively transition to a lower-carbon future. With total project work roughly 94 percent complete, Mountain Valley remains committed to working diligently with federal and state regulators to secure the necessary permits to safely and responsibly finish construction, and we remain committed to bringing it into service in the second half of 2023.”
Environmental organizations today came out with criticism of the time extension and of the project. They pointed to thousands of comments asking FERC to deny the extension along with hundreds of water quality violations and millions of dollars in fines.
“FERC’s decision disregards the experiences of those harmed by Mountain Valley Pipeline, the evidence of environmental degradation and the tens of thousands who weighed in asking for denial of the certificate extension” stated Jessica Sims, Virginia field coordinator for the environmental group Appalachian Voices.
“Granting MVP more time to harm Appalachian communities and water resources is appalling, but FERC’s decision will only strengthen the growing national opposition against this unnecessary fracked-gas pipeline.”
The Sierra Club also objected
“The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a dirty, dangerous and unnecessary project that neighboring communities have said they don’t want and have been fighting against for years,” stated Caroline Hensley, senior campaign representative for the Sierra Club.
“Now is the time for Members of Congress to listen to their constituents, rather than steamroll environmental justice communities, by opposing the polluter side deal that would rubber stamp the Mountain Valley Pipeline, gut bedrock environmental protections, cut out the voice of the public, and endanger public health.”