Feds approve contentious Mountain Valley Pipeline (2024)

The 303-mile pipeline, which is set to carry natural gas from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia, has been approved, according to a Tuesday letter from Terry Turpin, director of the Office of Energy Projects at the bipartisan Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

The end of the years-long fight over the pipeline comes afterPresident Bidensigned a law last year requiring it to be approved as part of adeal to lift the debt ceiling.

The project hasdivided Democrats.

Longtime Democratic Sen.Joe Manchin(W.Va.), who recently registered as an Independent, backed the project, which would have carried energy produced in his home state. As part of a separate deal with Manchin to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, Democratic leadersagreed to supportthe project.

However, progressive lawmakers opposed the build-out of additional fossil fuel infrastructure, andSen.Tim Kaine(D-Va.) raised local concerns about the pipeline that would run through his state.

Natalie Cox, a spokesperson for Equitrans Midstream, one of the companies behind the pipeline, said in a written statement that “final preparations are underway to begin commercial operations” for the project.

Read more in a full report at TheHill.com.

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The Senate on Wednesday confirmed David Rosner’s nomination to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in a 68-26 vote. Alongside several Republicans, Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass) voted against the Democrats’ nomination to a position as commissioner.

Kaine, in a statement that followed a procedural vote Tuesday, said he was opposing Rosner’s nomination over concerns about the agency’s handling of permits for gas pipelines, including the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

“I have long advocated for a more fair and transparent process when it comes to permits for natural gas pipelines,” Kaine said Tuesday. “Today—the day that the MVP asked FERC for permission to switch on the gas—I voted no on rubber-stamping the same old people to FERC, especially to replace a commissioner who was forced out for implementing the kinds of permitting process improvements that Americans deserve.”

Rosner was an energy industry analyst for FERC and has also served on the Democratic staff of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.).

The Senate on Wednesday also passed procedural votes on two other nominees, Republican Lindsay See and Democrat Judy Chang, though their nominations have not yet come up for final passage.

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