Virginia: Regulators Approve MVP Stream-Crossing Permit
After a series of setbacks, the Virginia State Water Control Board approved a necessary stream-crossing permit for the embattled Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) on the 14th December, according to the Roanoke Times (Va).
The board voted 3-2, with two members absent, to issue a Virginia Water Protection Permit to MVP. Its developers said in March they hoped to achieve start-up of the natural gas pipeline in 2022.
“The facts show that remaining waterbody crossings can be completed successfully and without adverse impacts to sensitive resources as the project team has proposed,” Mountain Valley spokesperson Natalie Cox wrote in a statement. “In fact, Mountain Valley already has successfully performed multiple crossings of waterbodies and wetlands in Virginia, without adverse impacts to water quality.”
Earlier in the year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) voted to
upheld a decision to allow partial resumption of construction near the Jefferson National Forest in Appalachia, staving off efforts to overturn a December ruling.
The Mountain Valley line, a US$6 billion project that stretches from West Virginia to Virginia, is one of a series of energy infrastructure projects that have been delayed by legal opposition and regulatory problems.
Source: Pipeline & Gas Journal