(Washington, D.C.) — Environmental groups are trying to stop a spur of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Eight groups filed a petition in the D.C. Court of Appeals this week challenging a certificate of public convenience issued by federal regulators for the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Southgate Project. That will be a 51-mile long spur running from MVP near Chatham, terminating in Rockingham County, North Carolina.
The permit was issued for their original plan which included a longer route and a narrower pipe. The shorter distance also eliminated the need for an additional compressor.
Opponents say the new plan is fundamentally different from the original one and should require a new federal review.
In February, four Democratic members of Congress from North Carolina asked the Federal Energy Regulation Commission to force Equitrans to get a brand new federal permit for the Southgate Extension.
In a statement, an Equitrans spokesperson said they, “intend to pursue all necessary permits and authorizations to complete the construction of this important energy infrastructure project.”
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Southgate project in 2020, but the ruling prevented construction until the larger Mountain Valley Pipeline got federal permits for the main pipeline system. Twice they were granted those permits and twice those permits were yanked, each time by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond.
The permits were issued last year as part of a debt ceiling compromise in Congress.
The Southgate project was turned down by the Virginia Air Pollution Control Board in 2021. Since then, the General Assembly has adopted new rules that place permitting authority exclusively with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
Under the new route, Southgate still begins at the TransCo facility in Pittsylvania County. Equitrans is estimating a 2028 completion date.
(Photo courtesy Equitrans)