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The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality posted Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s Clean Water Act Section 401 application for its proposed methane gas pipeline “Southgate.” The developers recently altered their plans for Southgate, changing the route and increasing the capacity and pipe diameter. Southgate would extend the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, and has faced significant opposition since the original project was first proposed in 2018.

During its original permit review in 2020, DEQ determined MVP Southgate was an unneeded risk, and denied the developer’s application for a Clean Water Act permit. The Southgate pipeline would extend from Pittsylvania County, Virginia, into Rockingham County, North Carolina. It is currently subject to an amendment review process by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the recently requested changes to the project. The FERC recently opened a “Notice of Scoping,” soliciting new feedback from the public on the pipeline’s impacts.

Especially concerning for North Carolina communities is Southgate’s project route, which is very similar to the proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project from Williams Companies’ expansion of their network of Transco pipelines. The co-location of two additional high-pressure, large diameter pipelines, next to already aging pipes, adds to safety risks for both proposed pipelines.

The application process for Southgate from DEQ will include a public comment period and closes on July 5, 2025.

Attend an in-person scoping session hosted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), where the agency will collect public comments regarding environmental concerns related to the proposed MVP Southgate.  

Chatham, VA: Scoping Session - Public Input Opportunity 

Monday June 16th from 5pm-8pm

Olde Dominion Agricultural Complex 

19783 U.S. Highway 29 Chatham, VA 24531

Rockingham, NC: Scoping Session - Public Input Opportunity 

Tuesday June 17th from 5pm-8pm

Rockingham County Community College ADT Auditorium 

560 County Home Road Wentworth, NC 27375

The US Army Corps of Engineers published the public notices for Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s Clean Water Act permit for the stream and wetlands crossings for its proposed methane gas pipeline “Southgate.” The notices are for the Norfolk and Wilmington Districts of the Army Corps. Southgate would travel from the Mountain Valley Pipeline mainline terminus in Chatham, Virginia through Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham, North Carolina.

According to the notices, “the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps)…has found that this permit request meets the terms of EO 14156 and is therefore subject to special emergency permitting procedures to address an energy supply situation which would result in an unacceptable hazard to life, a significant loss of property, or an immediate, unforeseen, and significant economic hardship if corrective action requiring a permit is not undertaken within a time period less than the normal time needed to process the application under standard procedures.”

The Southgate project would extend the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline along a route similar to the proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project from Williams Companies’ expansion of their network of Transco pipelines. These projects are also currently undergoing a review process by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. 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 also includes review by the Virginia and North Carolina Departments of Environmental Quality. Their public comment periods are estimated to be in late Spring and early Summer.

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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Inside Climate News

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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.”