trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/X0ci17uz8Mc3IN9zIZY0wg2 content esgSubNav
In This List

NC landowners point to environmental concerns with MVP Southgate expansion

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


NC landowners point to environmental concerns with MVP Southgate expansion

People living along the proposed route of Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC's MVP Southgate extension questioned the potential environmental impacts associated with the interstate natural gas pipeline project, which is designed to meet growing demand in southern Virginia and central North Carolina.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission received comments after it issued a positive draft environmental impact statement for the MVP Southgate project. The concerns of residents in Alamance and Rockingham counties in North Carolina centered on how construction and operation could negatively affect water sources and air quality.

Joshua Lobe, a landowner in Mebane, N.C., told FERC in an Aug. 23 letter that building the pipeline would cause "unavoidable damage" to wildlife, water resources and air quality.

In another letter, David Hill of Graham, N.C., said the project would permanently damage the nearby Haw River. He said herbicides used to control vegetation on the pipeline right of way could leak into nearby waterways.

Steven Pulliam, who works with the conservation group Dan Riverkeeper, highlighted potential dangers to the watershed and endangered species of the Dan River Basin of North Carolina and Virginia in a motion to intervene in opposition to the project.

The Virginia Petroleum Council, a division of the American Petroleum Institute, supported the project in its comments. The group said the pipeline would help the regional economy by providing cheap fuel that is cleaner than coal.

In November 2018, Mountain Valley applied to FERC for a Natural Gas Act certificate for the nearly 73-mile project, which is anchored by a firm capacity contract with SCANA Corp. utility PSNC Energy for 300 MDth/d of firm service. FERC issued the draft environmental impact statement on July 26.

In answer to the environmental concerns in the comments, Mountain Valley, a joint venture of EQM Midstream Partners LP, NextEra Energy, Con Edison Transmission Inc. and WGL Midstream Inc., said the environmental review came out after more than a year and a half of project planning and development.

The FERC draft environmental impact statement "reflects the evaluation of data from civil, environmental and cultural surveys conducted along 90 percent of the proposed route, as well as feedback from landowners, state and federal agencies, local officials, tribes and non-governmental organizations," MVP Southgate spokesman Shawn Day said in an Aug. 27 statement. "The MVP Southgate team has worked hard with stakeholders to develop a route that minimizes potential impacts while providing the region with the additional supply of natural gas needed to meet public demand."

The company continues to target a construction start in 2020 and a late 2020 in-service date. Mountain Valley said FERC will be accepting all comments regarding the draft environmental impact statement until Sept. 16.

The MVP Southgate application also triggered protests from the North Carolina Utilities Commission, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and groups led by Appalachian Mountain Advocates in December 2018. The North Carolina Utilities Commission said Mountain Valley had not properly supported proposed rates for the project, and the environmental agency and the conservation groups said the project was not needed and not in the public interest. Mountain Valley defended the expansion project in a Jan. 8 motion, telling federal regulators that the project would help provide transportation capacity between the Marcellus and Utica shale regions to markets in the Southeast. (FERC docket CP19-14)

The larger Mountain Valley mainline project, a 300-mile, 2-Bcf/d gas pipeline to which MVP Southgate would connect, has also faced challenges from landowners and environmental groups but scored a victory at FERC on Aug. 27 when the commission approved a change in water crossing methods requested by the developer. The developer said work on the Mountain Valley mainline is now about 85% complete. (FERC docket CP16-10)

SNL Image