U.S. court vacates federal permit for WV-VA Mountain Valley natgas pipe (updated)

RGC Resources

25/01/2022 19:41

(Adds analyst comment)
    Jan 25 (Reuters) - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th
Circuit on Tuesday invalidated federal approvals for Equitrans
Midstream Corp's  ETRN.N  $6.2 billion Mountain Valley natural
gas pipeline under construction from West Virginia to Virginia.
    The court decision was the latest setback for the pipeline,
which was already years behind schedule and billions over
budget.
    Specifically, the court vacated the record of decisions of
the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management
allowing the pipe to cross about 3.5-miles (5.6-kilometers)
through the Jefferson National Forest, and sent the case back to
the agencies.
    In an email, Equitrans said "We are thoroughly reviewing the
Court’s decision regarding (Mountain Valley's) crossing permit
for the Jefferson National Forest and will be expeditiously
evaluating the project’s next steps and timing considerations."
    In the past, Equitrans has said it expected the project to
enter service during the summer of 2022.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RT0U4
    Analysts at ClearView Energy Partners LLC said the loss of
the permit likely means "completion of the pipeline this
calendar year now looks unlikely."
    Mountain Valley is one of several U.S. pipelines delayed by
regulatory and legal fights with environmental and local groups
that found problems with federal permits issued during President
Donald Trump's administration.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QU1HK
    When Mountain Valley construction started in February 2018,
Equitrans estimated the 303-mile (488-km),
2.0-billion-cubic-feet-per-day (bcfd) project would cost about
$3.5 billion and enter service by late 2018.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RS10S
    "Today’s decision makes it highly unlikely that this dirty,
dangerous, and unnecessary fracked gas pipeline will ever be
completed," said Kelly Sheehan, senior director of energy
campaigns at the Sierra Club, which along with other
environmental groups filed the latest lawsuit.
    Equitrans, which has a roughly 47.8% ownership interest in
Mountain Valley and will operate the pipe, said it has funded
about $2.4 billion of the project as of Sept. 30.
    The Mountain Valley venture is owned by units of Equitrans,
NextEra Energy Inc  NEE.N , Consolidated Edison Inc  ED.N ,
AltaGas Ltd  ALA.TO  and RGC Resources Inc  RGCO.O .

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
RGC sees Mountain Valley gas pipeline completion by end 2021
-CEO     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2KI1OJ
MVP Southgate natgas pipe startup seen in 2021 despite
N.Carolina permit denial     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2FE1FI
UPDATE 1-Panel favors Equitrans in EQT PA-WV Hammerhead natgas
pipe dispute     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RM25G
FACTBOX-U.S. new natural gas pipeline projects     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RS10S
EXPLAINER-U.S. Appalachian gas pipeline projects go by the
wayside     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QU1HK
UPDATE 2-Mountain Valley natgas pipeline start delayed to summer
2022     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2MR17P
Equitrans sees Mountain Valley natgas pipeline entering service
next summer     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2RT0U4
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Scott DiSavino
Editing by Paul Simao and Aurora Ellis)
 ((scott.disavino@thomsonreuters.com; +1 332 219 1922; Reuters
Messaging: scott.disavino.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))