3 days ago
DC Circuit upholds FERC decision on Mountain Valley expansion
A federal appeals court Friday upheld a decision by federal regulators that granted developers more time to complete a natural gas pipeline expansion in Virginia and North Carolina.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 'reasonably found that [Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC] had satisfied the good cause standard in seeking an extension' for the MVP Southgate project, Senior Judge Harry Edwards wrote in an opinion for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Given that developers focused their 'efforts on securing authorization' for the main, 303-mile Mountain Valley pipeline project, 'MVP made a good faith effort to meet the original Southgate deadline,' said Edwards, a Carter appointee.
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The MVP Southgate project, approved by FERC in June 2020, was originally conceived as a 75-mile extension to the mainline Mountain Valley project. That main pipeline started operating last year and connects West Virginia with southern Virginia. MVP Southgate would continue on into North Carolina.
