Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
The Mountain Valley Pipeline Project consists of a proposed 303-mile interstate pipeline system
designed to transport natural gas from Wetzel County in northwestern West
Virginia to Pittsylvania County in southern Virginia. The pipeline will carry a
capacity of approximately 2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of natural gas and
is expected to cross the following counties: Braxton, Doddridge, Fayette, Greenbrier,
Harrison, Lewis, Monroe, Nicholas, Summers, Webster, and Wetzel in West
Virginia; and Craig, Franklin, Giles, Montgomery, Pittsylvania, and Roanoke in
Virginia. This project also involves the construction of three compressor
stations, one each in Wetzel, Braxton, and Fayette Counties in West Virginia.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline Project is operated by Mountain Valley
Pipeline, LLC, a joint venture of EQM Midstream Partners, LP; NextEra US Gas
Assets, LLC; Con Edison Transmission, Inc.; WGL Midstream; and RGC Midstream,
LLC. EQM Midstream Partners is the majority owner and is responsible for the
operation of the pipeline.
This article and three subsequent Shale Law in the Spotlight articles to
be published will review legal issues and the regulatory process associated
with the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project to date.
FERC Process Timeline (Docket No. CP16-10-000)
Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC initiated a pre-filing process with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project
in late October 2014. On October 23, 2015, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC filed
an application with FERC seeking a Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) for the construction
and operation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project in Virginia and West
Virginia.
In June 2017, FERC released a Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project finding that
environmental impacts would be minimal with the application of proposed
mitigation and protective measures. As a result, on October 13, 2017, FERC
issued an Order granting a
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Mountain Valley
Pipeline Project.
United States Army Corps of Engineers Process Timeline
Because the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project would cross waters of the
United States within the regulatory boundaries of the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers districts in Pittsburgh, Norfolk and Huntington, Mountain Valley
Pipeline, LLC sought to obtain Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12) verifications.
On December 22, 2017, the Huntington District, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers in West Virginia issued a NWP 12 verification allowing the pipeline
to be built through water crossings within the Huntington District regulatory
boundaries; however, on October 2, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th
Circuit vacated the Corps’
verification of the pipeline project’s compliance with NWP 12.
Subsequently, on October 5, 2018, the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps
of Engineers in Virginia made the decision to also suspend its own
NWP 12 verification dated January 23, 2018. The Pittsburgh District, U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers in Pennsylvania followed the same trend and ordered on October
19, 2018, a halt to all activities authorized pursuant to the NWP 12 verification
issued by the District on December 19, 2017.
Virginia Process Timeline
On December 8, 2017, the Virginia State Water Control Board granted
Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC a Section 401 water quality certification for all relevant upland activities for the Mountain
Valley Pipeline project within the route identified in the Environmental Impact
Statement. According to the Virginia
Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), “this certification requires additional conditions to protect water
quality in upland areas and address certain environmental concerns not
addressed by existing laws and regulations” and “is part of the most rigorous
regulatory process to which a proposed pipeline has been subjected in
Virginia.”
On March 26, 2018, Virginia DEQ approved the
Erosion and Sediment Control and Stormwater Management Plans for the Mountain
Valley Pipeline Project as complying with the State Water Control Law and
associated regulations.
Subsequently,
the State Water Control Board approved on December 13,
2018 a motion to conduct a hearing to discuss the revocation of the Section 401
Water Quality Certification due to runoff and erosion issues that occurred
during the pipeline construction. A special board meeting to discuss such
motion was later set for March 1, 2019 in order to understand the procedure to
be followed; however, a News Release
specified that “the hearing referred to at the Dec. 13, 2018, Board meeting
will not occur at this special meeting on March 1.” The State Water Control
Board announced on March 1 that
it withdrew its action concerning a potential revocation of the Water Quality
Certification. It declared that “the Board extensively reviewed all available
options to continue enforcement and monitoring of this project to ensure
compliance with the conditions of the 401 certification and protection of water
quality. Any other action today would have jeopardized the commonwealth’s
oversight of the project.”
On August 2, 2019, Virginia DEQ issued a Stop Work Instruction to Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC on a two-mile section of the project
in Montgomery County. In a Press Release dated the same day, Virginia DEQ declared that, following a DEQ
inspection on August 1, 2019, “the agency has determined that an imminent and
substantial adverse impact to water quality is likely to occur as a result of
land-disturbing activities.” Virginia DEQ added that “MVP has failed to
construct and maintain erosion and sediment control or pollution prevention
measures in accordance with approved site-specific plans and/or the erosion and
sediment control measures that have been installed are not functioning
effectively and MVP has not proposed any corrective action.”
On August 16, 2019, Virginia DEQ announced the lifting of the Stop Work Instruction issued on August 2, 2019 after corrective actions
were approved and are being implemented.
West Virginia Process Timeline
In October 2015, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC submitted air quality
permit application to West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) for the construction of new Bradshaw, Harris, and Stallworth natural gas
transmission compressor stations. West Virginia granted such approvals
throughout March and April 2016.
West Virginia DEP issued Mountain Valley a Section 401 Water Quality Certification on March 28, 2017, as well as a Natural Streams Preservation Act Permit on July 21, 2017, for the crossing of the Greenbrier
River. In a letter dated
September 7, 2017, West Virginia DEP’s Division of Water and Waste Management
Director announced the withdrawal of the Water Quality Certification and
requested remand in order to “reevaluate the complete application to determine
whether the State’s certification is in compliance with Section 401 of the
federal Clean Water Act.”
Mountain Valley also was granted a State Oil and Gas General Water
Pollution Control Permit – also referenced as the state Construction Stormwater
Permit – on July 14, 2017, for the discharge of stormwater associated with the
disturbance of approximately 4,214 acres of land for the construction of about
196 miles of pipeline and associated infrastructure; however, West Virginia DEP
suspended this permit quickly thereafter as the agency failed to answer some
raised questions during the “Response to Public Comments” meeting held on July
14, 2017. On November 1, 2017, West Virginia DEP entered Administrative Order No. 8780 lifting the suspension and stating that a response to
all comments had been provided.
On the same day, West Virginia DEP also decided to waive
its authority under the Federal Clean Water Act to determine whether the
Mountain Valley Pipeline Project would violate the state’s water quality
standards. West Virginia DEP stated that the “Army Corps of Engineers recently
reissued, with provisions that are specific to West Virginia, the Nationwide 12
permit which is used for stream crossings. These new conditions, when combined
with specific requirements that are included in the state’s storm water permit, will allow
for better enforcement capabilities and enhanced protection for the state’s
waters.”
In a letter dated
November 13, 2017, West Virginia DEP Secretary Austin Caperton provided further
explanations of this decision and declared “To be clear – by waiving the 401
Individual Certification, we are not abandoning our duty to protect the water
quality of West Virginia. In fact, the new Nationwide 12 permit is 401
certified by West Virginia and includes state specific conditions relative to
pipelines. Combined with the state Construction Stormwater Permit, we are in a
stronger position to effectively regulate all pipeline construction in West
Virginia.”
On April 24, 2019, West Virginia DEP issued newly
modified Section 401 Water Quality Certification standard and special
conditions applying to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Section 404 Nationwide
Permits in West Virginia. This modification certified that the NWPs were
consistent with the State’s water quality standards to discharge dredged or
fill materials into U.S. waters.
Construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline started in February 2018,
and on December 13, 2018, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC announced in a News Release that the project was
70% completed; thus, still on track to reach its targeted fourth quarter 2019
full in-service date.
The expected completion date, however, may be delayed as Mountain Valley
Pipeline, LLC is facing numerous legal challenges filed against proposed
construction activities related to the pipeline project. Our next Shale Law in
the Spotlight articles will address these challenges.
References:
FERC
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Virginia
West Virginia
This material is based upon work supported by the National Agricultural Library, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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