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Mountain Valley pipeline closer to construction

Published by , Editorial Assistant
World Pipelines,

The US$6.6 billion Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline moved another step closer to restarting construction after West Virginia environmental regulators issued a new water permit, the partnership building the pipe said in court papers.

Mountain Valley told the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Monday 12 June that West Virginia issued a renewed Section 401 water quality certification for the West Virginia-to-Virginia pipe on 8 June.

The Fourth Circuit, which has vacated several of the project's federal and state permits, some more than once, was still hearing lawsuits by environmental and local groups opposed to the project. The project is key to unlocking more gas supplies from Appalachia, the nation's biggest shale gas basin.

Analysts at Height Capital Markets, an investment banking and research firm, said language supporting Mountain Valley in the recently approved US Fiscal Responsibility Act and issuance of the West Virginia permit "significantly raises the probability of a 2023 placed-in-service date" for the project.

Mountain Valley said in the court filing that it expects the US Army Corps of Engineers to issue a Section 404 water permit by 24 June, as mandated by the Fiscal Responsibility Act. "Once (the Army Corps) does, Mountain Valley expects to resume construction," Mountain Valley said in the filing.

Mountain Valley, the only big gas pipe under construction in Appalachia, is one of several US pipeline projects delayed by regulatory and legal fights with environmental and local groups. When Mountain Valley started construction in February 2018, Equitrans Midstream Corp, the lead partner building the project, estimated the 303 mile (488 km), 2 billion ft3/d project would cost about US$3.5 billion and enter service by late 2018.

Mountain Valley is owned by units of Equitrans, NextEra Energy Inc, Consolidated Edison Inc, AltaGas Ltd and RGC Resources Inc.

 

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World Pipelines’ June 2023 issue

In the June 2023 issue of World Pipelines, we cover hydrogen pipeline transport; pipeline sensing, composite coatings and inline inspection. Also featured are articles on metering and monitoring, and subsea pipelines.

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/project-news/14062023/mountain-valley-pipeline-closer-to-construction/

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