Developers of the Mountain Valley pipeline asked federal energy regulators Monday to make a decision by late May to put the project into service, a request immediately decried by environmentalists.
In a filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, a lawyer for the joint venture behind Mountain Valley said project facilities “are now nearing completion and will be ready for service in May.” The developers called on the director of FERC’s Office of Energy Projects to issue the approval “no later” than May 23, saying that “no further work remains at any of the above-ground facilities.”
“Timely authorization is critical to allow Mountain Valley to finalize in-service preparations and Project customers to make final preparations for supplies, scheduling, and nominations,” said Matthew Eggerding, Mountain Valley’s deputy general counsel, in the filing. The venture consists of Equitrans Midstream, NextEra Energy, Consolidated Edison, AltaGas and RGC Resources.
The five-page letter, addressed to FERC’s acting secretary, Debbie-Anne Reese, said Mountain Valley has completed all water and wetland crossings and that roughly 63 percent of the 303-mile pipeline is fully restored, meaning its right of way is as close to its original condition as is feasible after construction.
