"The approval marks the end of a lengthy regulatory and legal battle over the pipeline."
"The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted approval on Tuesday to Equitrans Midstream Corp. to start operations at its Mountain Valley Pipeline, the final hurdle for the controversial natural gas project that had draw sharp opposition from environmental activists.
The commission’s director of the office of energy projects, Terry Turpin, delivered the green light to the company in a letter Tuesday, stating the pipeline is in compliance with all necessary safety and environmental regulations.
The approval marks the end of a lengthy regulatory and legal battle over the pipeline that dates back to its first FERC application in 2015. Final work on the pipeline that will ship natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia into Virginia commenced after Sen. Joe Manchin (I- W.Va.) included its approval in the 2022 debt ceiling deal.
MVP has faced a patchwork of state and federal legal and regulatory challenges including a warning from the Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last year that the pipeline may pose safety and environmental risks to the local region."
Catherine Morehouse reports for Politico June 11, 2024.