The developer of the Mountain Valley pipeline expansion plans to restart construction this week in Virginia after a federal appeals court opted not to halt that work as litigation plays out.
Mountain Valley informed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a letter Wednesdaythat “it intends to resume work” on the MVP Southgate project for its Virginia facilities, notifying the agency on the same day the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its orders.
The Southgate project, approved in its current form in December, is a 31-mile extension of the main Mountain Valley gas pipeline, which travels more than 300 miles from West Virginia into southern Virginia. The Southgate project, which would be operated by the gas producer EQT, is designed to provide gas to North Carolina utilities.
The court’s decision Wednesday is a positive step for Mountain Valley, which secured FERC permission in late March to launch construction in Virginia on the Southgate project. Mountain Valley had stopped all construction activity on Southgate after the 4th Circuit in late March issued orders that granted temporary administrative stays.