Mountain Valley Pipeline Changes Strategy on Permits
(AP) — Mountain Valley Pipeline says it will abandon its plan to use a blanket permit to cross nearly 500 streams and wetlands.
The Roanoke Times reported that the pipeline project will instead apply for individual approvals for each open-cut crossing.
That will make for a more costly and time-consuming process for a project that is already swamped by legal and regulatory delays. But Mountain Valley attorney Todd Normane said in a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that switching to individual permits is “the most efficient and effective path to project completion.”
The federal 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has twice set aside the blanket permit. Critics have said that it fails to adequately assess the environmental impacts of a massive pipeline fording pristine mountain streams.
The project has faced various legal challenges from environmental groups because construction has led to violations of regulations meant to control erosion and sedimentation.
Despite its change in strategy, Mountain Valley said it still expects to complete the project by year’s end at a projected cost of about $6 billion. That’s nearly twice the original estimate.
The 303-mile pipeline will take natural gas drilled from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations and transport it through West Virginia and Virginia.
Related News
From Archive
- OSHA issues 16 citations following fatal sewer confined space incident
- 27 pipeline safety violations tied to deadly Pa. chocolate factory explosion
- Contractor gas line strike triggers home explosion in Missouri
- LA recovery reports call for $650 million power line burial, major utility upgrades in Pacific Palisades
- Comprehensive microtrenching FAQ: Key insights on the Vermeer MTR516 microtrencher
- T-Mobile to expand fiber broadband infrastructure footprint with $4.9 billion Metronet acquisition
- First tunnel boring machines complete testing for Hudson Tunnel Project
- NWPX grows water infrastructure portfolio with Colorado precast facility
- Cityside launches $100 million fiber build in Corona, Calif.
- FiberLight to build 1,400-mile West Texas dark fiber network in $350 million expansion
Comments