Groups representing landowners and Native American tribes asked the U.S. Appeals Court for the 4th Circuit to stay work on the EQT Midstream Partners LP-led Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC natural gas transportation project, alleging that letters from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorizing construction were unlawfully approved by a project manager who lacked delegated authority to make such decisions.
"Absent a stay, MVP will start clearing hundreds of trees — as soon as today — on properties" where the FERC staff member Paul Friedman gave the go-ahead, according to the group's petition for a stay, which was filed May 11.
The petition by Bold Alliance and Bold Education Fund is one of several actions targeting the 301-mile, 2-Bcf/d gas pipeline project developed by a joint venture of EQT Midstream, NextEra Energy Inc., Con Edison Transmission Inc., WGL Midstream Inc. and RGC Midstream LLC. The pipeline would run through West Virginia and Virginia.
Bold Alliance is a network of groups that combines landowner, tribal and environmental interests in fighting pipeline projects. It also has a pending lawsuit alleging the use of eminent domain has not been properly justified for the Mountain Valley project or for the nearby 600-mile, 1.5-Bcf/d Atlantic Coast pipeline project. In the latest litigation, the groups filed a motion for a stay and a petition for review of FERC's denial of rehearing requests related to the notices to proceed for the project. (U.S. Appeals Court for the 4th Circuit docket 18-1533)
The groups said that without a stay, "the commission will continue to turn a blind eye towards Friedman's unauthorized activities," noting that since March when they sought rehearing of eight requests to proceed, Friedman has granted 13 more.
The groups asked FERC to set aside the orders and bar itself from issuing further notices to proceed signed by "non-supervisory staff." They argued that commission rules reserve the power for the director of the Office of Energy Projects or one of his designees who have comparable supervisory authority.
FERC, in denying the group's request for rehearing May 4, countered that the group was wrong about the limits of delegated authority. The commission has clarified that it delegates such authority "with the understanding that the director may further delegate such authority to a designee."
The litigation comes as several other suits challenging permits for the project are pending in the 4th Circuit. Oral arguments were heard last week in two of the cases that involve approval of a water quality permit and federal lands permits.
The pipeline would run from receipt point with the Equitrans LP system near the Mobley and Sherwood processing plants in northern West Virginia and would deliver gas into Columbia Gas Transmission LLC's WB system and finally into Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC Zone 5. Largely producer backed, it is expected to boost Utica production in West Virginia, according to S&P Global Platts Analytics.
Maya Weber is a reporter for S&P Global Platts, which, like S&P Global Market Intelligence, is owned by S&P Global Inc.
