Tag: Mountain Valley Pipeline

A Week After Mountain Valley Pipeline Burst, Builder Says Testing Works

Initially, the only way the public knew about the incident was because a landowner reported the sediment-laden water had inundated her property to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

A week after a section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline ruptured during testing, its builder says the failure shows the testing is working as designed and intended.

Part of the pipe burst on May 1 at Bent Mountain in Roanoke County, Virginia, releasing an unknown quantity of municipal water used to pressure test the line.

Initially, the only way the public knew about the incident was because a landowner reported the sediment-laden water had inundated her property to the state’s Department of Environmental Quality.

For days, the pipeline’s builder and the state and federal regulators supervising the project said little about the rupture.

On Wednesday, Natalie Cox, a spokeswoman for Equitrans Midstream, said the company notified state and federal regulators about the rupture and that the released water had dissipated by the next day.

“There were no injuries reported, and all appropriate state and federal agencies were notified,” she said. “By Thursday morning, the released water had dissipated and temporarily affected tributaries had returned to pre-hydrotesting conditions.”

Cox said the company has resumed hydrostatic testing of the pipeline, including where it ruptured, and has successfully completed the process on 269 miles of the route.

Cox added that no other sections had failed and that last week’s failure proves the testing works. The damaged section will be sent to a laboratory for analysis, she said.

“Importantly, the disruption of this one hydrotest does, in fact, demonstrate that the testing process is working as designed and intended,” she said.

The 303-mile, 42-inch diameter pipeline, which stretches from Wetzel County, West Virginia, to Pittsylvania County, Virginia, has been one of the most contested fossil fuel infrastructure projects of recent years.

The pipeline’s construction began in 2018 and was periodically paused because of court challenges. Last year, Congress required, as part of a spending deal, that the pipeline be completed.

If the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves the pipeline to begin operating in the coming weeks, the $7.85 billion project will have more than doubled in cost.

Equitrans Midstream has asked FERC to approve the pipeline’s operation by May 23. On Wednesday, a group of 18 Virginia lawmakers sent FERC a letter asking them to deny the request.

Since October, the Mountain Valley Pipeline has been under an agreement with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to ensure sections of pipe maintained their integrity after they were exposed to weather during the long pauses in construction activity.

Pipeline opponents warned the exposure may have degraded the pipe’s corrosion-resistant coating.

When it starts operating, the pipeline will carry as much as 2 billion cubic feet a day of gas.

Tate reported this story from Floyd, Virginia.

Jefferson Commission Confusion And Pipeline Problems, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a West Virginia circuit court removed two members of the Jefferson County Commission from office, but a last-minute party change has cast confusion over who will name her successor.

Also, the construction of a pipeline in western Pennsylvania and a rupture in the Mountain Valley Pipeline has left environmentalists asking questions.

On this West Virginia Morning, a West Virginia circuit court removed two members of the Jefferson County Commission from office. But as Jack Walker reports, a last-minute party change has cast confusion over which party will name her successor.

Also, the construction of a pipeline in western Pennsylvania and a rupture in the Mountain Valley Pipeline has left environmentalists asking questions.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University.

Emily Rice produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Federal, State Agencies Quiet About Mountain Valley Pipeline Failure

Groups that oppose the Mountain Valley Pipeline say last week’s failure in Roanoke County, Virginia, shows the risks the project poses to communities and property.

This story has been updated with comment from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

The state and federal regulatory agencies that oversee the Mountain Valley Pipeline have said little about a rupture last week during a pressure test.

Groups that oppose the Mountain Valley Pipeline say last week’s failure in Roanoke County, Virginia, shows the risks the project poses to communities and property.

Because it is undergoing testing now, Wednesday’s rupture only released water. But the pipeline’s builder, Equitrans Midstream, has asked federal regulators for permission to begin operations at the end of this month.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting asked the company for comment and has yet to receive a reply. We also reached out to the principal state and federal agencies that oversee the project.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration have not replied.

After this story was first published, Irina Calos, a spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, said the breach occurred at 10 a.m. on May 1, during hydrostatic testing of the pipe.

“A section of pipe ruptured during this test, and municipal water used in the testing was discharged through the rupture,” she said.

Equitrans Midstream has removed the accumulated sediment, she said. She added that the incident would not affect any state permit approvals.

The public initially became aware of the incident because it was reported to a state database by a landowner.

Jessica Sims, Virginia field coordinator for Appalachian Voices, says her group has received very little information about the pipeline’s failure.

“Much more of a response would be helpful for community members to understand what happens now, what happens next,” she said, “What does this mean for the testing schedule? What does this mean for the overall integrity of the project?”

If FERC approves Equitrans Midstream’s application, 2 billion cubic feet of gas a day could be moving through the 303-mile pipeline next month from West Virginia into Virginia.

Had the rupture occurred then, the public would know much more about what happened and why. For example, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated a 2012 gas pipeline explosion in Sissonville, West Virginia, producing a detailed report.

But Sims says the state agency in Virginia doesn’t even publicly say when testing on the MVP will occur. She also says Freedom of Information Act requests to PHMSA, a small agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, are taking months to complete.

She says state and federal regulators need to be more transparent.

“If there is a problem, how will the community know what has happened?” Sims asked. “And what is the plan in place to communicate that?”

Mountain Valley Pipeline Bursts During Pressure Testing In Virginia

A landowner observed sediment-laden water in her pasture on Wednesday morning and reported it to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

A section of the Mountain Valley Pipeline ruptured during pressure testing Wednesday in Roanoke County, Virginia, according to a report from the state’s environmental agency.

A landowner observed sediment-laden water in her pasture on Wednesday morning and reported it to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.

The agency sent a construction compliance expert to investigate the origin of the water.

“The origin of the sediment-laden water reported in the complaint was from the rupture of a section of pipe during hydrostatic testing the morning of 5/1/2024,” wrote the expert, John McCutcheon.

The 300-mile MVP is undergoing pressure testing with water in anticipation of beginning operations later this month.

MVP’s builder, Equitrans Midstream, has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to put the natural gas pipeline in service after May 23.

The company entered an agreement with the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration last year to ensure sections of pipe that had been exposed to the elements had not lost their corrosion-resistant coating.

Court challenges led to long pauses in construction until Congress last year required the project’s completion.

In its first quarter earnings report Tuesday, Equitrans Midstream said the project’s cost had increased to $7.85 billion, more than twice the original estimate.

McCutcheon’s report indicated that crews were preparing the site of the rupture for repairs.

Rivers, Manchin’s Successor, Firing Up A Gas Pipeline And New Power Plant Rules, This West Virginia Week

On this West Virginia Week, Earth Day was Monday. We’ll hear from a hydrologist about the state’s rivers. We’ll learn more about why two leading candidates for governor are trading accusations in ads over transgender youth. And we’ll visit a community in southern West Virginia affected by contaminated water.

On this West Virginia Week, Earth Day was Monday. We’ll hear from a hydrologist about the state’s rivers. We’ll learn more about why two leading candidates for governor are trading accusations in ads over transgender youth. And we’ll visit a community in southern West Virginia affected by contaminated water.

We’ll also talk about what’s next for opponents of new federal power plant rules. We’ll find out who Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., has endorsed to be his successor in the Senate. And we’ll learn when a long-delayed controversial natural gas pipeline proposes to begin operating.

Curtis Tate is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week’s biggest news in the Mountain State. It’s produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Randy Yohe.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

Mountain Valley Pipeline Seeks Late May Approval To Start Operation

The company wrote that the 303-mile project will be mechanically complete by May 22 and seeks FERC’s approval by May 23.

The builders of the Mountain Valley Pipeline are seeking federal approval to begin operations within weeks.

MVP has sought approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin operations in late May.

The company wrote that the 303-mile project will be mechanically complete by May 22 and seeks FERC’s approval by May 23.

It says its customers with long-term contracts for natural gas from the pipeline become effective on June 1.

The $7.5 billion pipeline has been delayed and cost more than projected as environmental groups and landowners challenged the project in court.

The MVP is under a consent decree with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration over a corrosion-resistant coating that may have degraded while large sections of pipe were exposed to weather during the delays.

That’s after groups challenged the safety of the exposed pipe. The company agreed to take corrective measures to eliminate any safety risk.

Various legal challenges to the pipeline’s construction ended last year when Congress passed, and President Joe Biden signed, a spending agreement that approved all remaining permits.

While some opponents continue to press forward, it appears they have few options remaining before the pipeline goes into service.

The MVP has a capacity of two billion cubic feet of gas a day. It will connect north-central West Virginia with southern Virginia and open up West Virginia gas production to new markets in the mid-Atlantic.

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