The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality announced its approval of the Virginia Water Protection Permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s methane gas pipeline “Southgate.”
Southgate would extend the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline from Pittsylvania County, Virginia, into Rockingham, North Carolina, and has faced significant opposition since it was originally proposed in 2018. The project was previously unable to obtain state-level water and air permits. The project still requires a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and approval from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced its approval of an amendment to change the route, pipe diameter and gas-carrying capacity for the methane-gas pipeline Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate, proposed for Virginia and North Carolina. The approval comes despite strong opposition to the project by thousands of members of the public, including elected state and federal officials.
The Virginia Marine Resources Commission posted Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s Joint Permit Application for its proposed methane gas pipeline “Southgate.” The application notes that it has also been submitted to other federal and state agencies, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Wilmington and Norfolk Districts, and the Virginia and North Carolina Departments of Environmental Quality. As part of the review process, agencies will determine if the application’s content is complete, or missing necessary information.
The Southgate pipeline is proposed for Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham, North Carolina, and is also currently undergoing an amendment review process by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The developers had recently altered their plans for Southgate, changing the route, length and pipe diameter. Southgate would extend the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, and has faced significant opposition since it was proposed in 2018.
The Southgate project has a route similar to the proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project from Williams Companies’ expansion of their network of Transco pipelines. The co-location of two high-pressure, large diameter pipelines is of significant concern for local residents in the impacted counties.
The application process for Southgate will include public notices from the Virginia and North Carolina Departments of Environmental Quality (DEQ), followed by public comment periods. Virginia DEQ’s calendar states that a draft permit is anticipated to be released around July, with a comment period in August.
Pipeline operator Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC submitted a new amendment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the methane gas pipeline “Southgate,” proposed for Virginia and North Carolina. Southgate would extend the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, and has faced significant opposition since it was proposed in 2018.
MVP made an amendment request instead of a new application and asked that FERC issue an order by December 31, 2025. Project opponents contend a new application should be required because the route and impact of the project are distinct from the original 2020 Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity issued by FERC.
Just 10 days after receiving a three-year extension on their federal certificate, MVP announced it had radically altered its plans for Southgate, changing the route, length and pipe diameter. As described in the amendment, Southgate would include 31 miles of 30-inch diameter pipeline in Virginia and North Carolina and had “entered into precedent agreements with Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC (‘Duke’) and Public Service Company of North Carolina, Inc, d/b/a Enbridge Gas North Carolina (‘PSNC’), both as Foundation Shippers.”
The similarly routed proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project from Williams Companies’ expansion of the Transco pipelines also claims Duke will be a major customer. The co-location of two high-pressure, large diameter pipelines is of significant concern for local residents.
MVP’s amendment request will trigger a public comment period.
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Just before the close of 2023, Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Extension developers quietly announced major changes to their methane gas pipeline proposal, including cutting the total length in half and removing Alamance County from the route, increasing pipe diameter from 24 in to 30 in (wider pipes = more dangerous) and increasing capacity from 300,000 Dth per day to 550,000 Dth per day.
The new route would extend 31 miles from the terminus of the MVP mainline in Chatham, VA into Rockingham County, NC, and the pipe's diameter would be increased. According to developers, the revised plan would also mean fewer water crossings, and no additional compressor station, the permit for which MVP Southgate was denied on environmental justice grounds in 2021. The new plans are not yet finalized.
Co-Founder and Director of 7 Directions of Service, Dr. Crystal Cavalier-Keck, responded to the possible changes:
“As usual, MVP developers file before a holiday weekend to keep impacted communities in the dark and scrambling. Rightfully, these bad actors are afraid of our collective grassroots power and our growing movement of everyday people who stand together against MVP and MVP Southgate and all forms of new fossil fuel infrastructure to fight for life. Whether Southgate is proposed to be 1 mile, 31 miles, or 75 miles, we will only rest when this unnecessary and dangerous methane gas pipeline–as well as MVP mainline–are canceled, and meaningful steps are taken to phase out fossil fuels immediately.”
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