Mountain Valley pipeline has received the 401 water quality certification, re-issued by the West Virginia environmental regulators. The 488 km pipeline is at a cost of USD 6.6 billion and is crucial for accessing additional gas reserves in Appalachia, the largest shale gas basin in the US.

Jun 16, 2023

Mountain Valley pipeline has informed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that it has been granted a new water permit by West Virginia environmental regulators, as they issued a renewed Section 401 water quality certification for the pipeline, which stretches from West Virginia to Virginia. In the court filing, Mountain Valley shared that it expects the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to grant a Section 404 water permit by June 24, as required under the Fiscal Responsibility Act, with the court filing stating that, “Once (the Army Corps) fulfills this requirement, Mountain Valley expects to resume construction.”

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When the pipeline’s construction began in February 2018, the project’s lead partner Equitrans Midstream Corp had estimated that the 488 km pipeline with a capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day would cost approximately USD 3.5 billion and become operational by late 2018. Today, the Mountain Valley pipeline is at a cost of USD 6.6 billion and is crucial for accessing additional gas reserves in Appalachia, the largest shale gas basin in the United States. Analysts have stated that the recent approval of the U.S. Fiscal Responsibility Act and the issuance of the West Virginia permit “significantly raises the probability of a 2023 placed-in-service date” for the project.