Curtis Tate Published

FERC Tells Court It Has Power To Extend MVP Deadline

Two sections of pipe rest on the ground as a yellow sign warns people of pressure testing for a natural gas pipeline.
Sections of pipe lay above ground at Bent Mountain, Virginia, on Friday, May 10, 2024.
Curtis Tate/West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Listen

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission says it has the power to give the Mountain Valley Pipeline more time to build its Southgate Extension from Virginia into North Carolina. 

A coalition of groups led by Appalachian Voices asked the U.S. Appeals Court in the District of Columbia to review the agency’s decision from last year.

The 303-mile main line of the nearly $8 billion MVP began operating in June. The 31-mile extension would serve Dominion Power and Duke Energy.

A previous deadline for the project passed in June 2023.

FERC says it holds broad discretion under the Natural Gas Act to set construction deadlines for gas transmission projects and extend them for “good cause.”