Mountain Valley pipeline requests 2-year extension from FERC

Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) LLC has requested a 2-year extension from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for completion of its 303-mile, 2-bcfd Appalachian natural gas pipeline. The company, headed by EQM Midstream Partners LP, cited "unforeseen litigation and permitting delays" in requesting the extension.

The company has installed 253 miles of pipeline and restored 153 miles of right-of-way, according to its request, describing it as 92% complete. Construction of the project’s three compressor stations is also complete. MVP was to have been completed by October 2020 based on the FERC certificate issued October 2017.

MVP expects to receive outstanding permits and opinions from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the US Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the US Army Corps of Engineers by end 2020. The company cited efforts by opposition groups to delay permit issuance as among the factors prompting its request.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality earlier in August denied a Clean Water Act approval for MVP’s 75-mile Southgate extension (OGJ Online, Aug. 11, 2020).

EQM’s partners in MVP are NextEra Capital Holdings Inc., Con Edison Transmission Inc., WGL Midstream, and RGC Midstream LLC.