The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality has approved the Erosion and Sediment Control, Stormwater Management, and Karst Protection Plans for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP), according to the Associate Press.
The plans are for engineering designs that will protect water quality in all areas of Virginia, including karst terrain, during and after construction of the pipeline project.
Until now, work on the 303-mile buried pipeline has been limited to cutting trees along its path and leaving them where they fell. With DEQ’s approval, Mountain Valley is now authorized to begin full-scale construction.
Pipeline opponents said that digging trenches for the pipeline will produce sediment-laden runoff, contaminating pristine streams and infiltrating private wells and public water supplies.
The MVP project is a natural gas pipeline system that spans approximately 303 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia – and as an interstate pipeline will be regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The MVP will be constructed and owned by Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is a joint venture of EQT Midstream Partners, LP; NextEra US Gas Assets; Con Edison Transmission; WGL Midstream; and RGC Midstream, LLC. EQT Midstream Partners will operate the pipeline and own a significant interest in the joint venture.
