Long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline has finally gotten approval to begin operation.
“We find that Mountain Valley has adequately stabilized the areas disturbed by construction and that restoration and stabilization of the construction work area is proceeding satisfactorily,” wrote Terry Turpin, director of energy projects in a memo for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The developers of Mountain Valley Pipeline on Monday asked federal officials for authorization to place the project in service. The developers hoped for that approval by today, and federal authorities granted authorization late in the afternoon.
Final preparations have been underway to begin flowing gas right away, company officials said.
“Multiple shippers have executed agreements to commence transporting volumes using the Project facilities beginning the day after the Project declares in-service, which further heightens the need for prompt authorization to meet market demands,” pipeline developers wrote in a memo to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
MVP developers first filed a request April 22 for authorization to place the pipeline in service. Mountain Valley supplemented the request May 21. At one point, developers had expected to begin operations for MVP on May 31.
MVP is a 303.5-mile interstate natural gas pipeline crossing nine West Virginia counties — Greenbrier, Monroe, Nicholas, Summers, Braxton, Harrison, Lewis, Webster and Wetzel — to transport natural gas to East Coast markets.
The project was first proposed in 2014, and the original in-service target date was 2018 at a cost of $3.5 billion.
The cost of the frequently-delayed pipeline project went up yet again, from the $7.6 billion estimated earlier this year to now about $7.85 billion.
Battles in the courtroom and through regulation extended that timeline by years and the cost by billions.
Environmental groups today expressed criticism over whether the pipeline should truly be allowed to begin operation.
“For a decade, community members have warned about the risks associated with the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, which far outweigh any benefits. This pipeline crossed thousands of rivers and streams, damaging our water resources in the process. The project is far from final restoration when hillsides continue to slip, people lack clean well water, agricultural lands are damaged and streams are clogged with sediment,” said Autumn Crowe, interim executive director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition.
“These problems will persist long after gas is pumping through it. This pipeline snakes through steep, unstable terrain, and heaven forbid an incident occurs because schools, churches and community centers are within the blast zone. We will continue to advocate for the safety of impacted communities and the protection of our lands and waters in hopes that no other community experiences the unjust approval of a project like the Mountain Valley Pipeline.”
The project got a boost last year when a bipartisan debt ceiling agreement in Congress included language to compel federal agencies to approve all remaining permits for the pipeline while also shielding the project from further litigation.
West Virginia’s senators, Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, each vocally supported that.
Capito, R-W.Va., expressed gratification that the pipeline project seems on the verge of completion.
“Senator Capito has consistently supported the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, has fought to ensure it becomes operational, and is looking forward to the boost it will provide for American energy producers, workers, and consumers once it is in service,” said Peter Hoffman, Republican communications director for the U.S. Senate Committee and Environment and Public Works.