Mountain Valley line adds to rift on permit bill

Part of a fast-tracked permitting bill that would force the approval of the $6.6bn Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline has become a core part of debate over its path to passage.

The bill, drafted by US senator Joe Manchin (D-West Virginia), would approve all of the required federal permits for the pipeline within 30 days and explicitly seek to shield those permits from legal challenges. That could swiftly bring an end to years of litigation over the 300-mile pipeline, allowing it to complete construction and begin transporting 2 Bcf/d (57mn m³/d) of gas from West Virginia into markets in the eastern US.

That provision has won praise from Republicans such as US senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia) whose votes could be key to reaching a filibuster-proof 60 votes when the measure comes up for a vote in the Senate next week. But it has also drawn the fury of environmental groups and some Democrats, who see it as unfair to exempt the project from having to obtain new permits after federal courts found problems with past approvals.

Having Congress "put its thumb on the scale and simply approve this project" while shutting down a chance for legal challenges is at odds with a bipartisan goal to make permitting transparent, US senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) said. The Mountain Valley Pipeline would cross through large parts of Virginia, where many residents oppose the project.

Kaine did not say if he plans to vote against the bill, which Senate Democrats plan to attach to a measure that would avoid a government shutdown after 30 September, but said he otherwise supports much of the bill. Manchin's bill would also set time limits on environmental reviews, expedite work on projects of "national importance" and try to fast-track construction of new electric transmission projects.

Midstream operator Equitrans Midstream, the lead developer of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, said it was still committed to bringing the project into service in the second half of 2023. The company said the permitting bill would benefit "all energy infrastructure projects" but did not say how it would affect Mountain Valley Pipeline, which it says is 94pc complete.

Manchin has previously predicted the Mountain Valley Pipeline could come on line within six months after his bill passes, offering short-term relief to high natural gas prices. Nymex Henry Hub natural gas futures settled at an average of $7.68/mmBtu on Wednesday for the winter heating season of October to March, a more than 60pc increase over spot prices last winter.

"Nothing puts more product in the market quicker and helps relieve the shortages that we have right now," Manchin said this week.

President Joe Biden says he supports the permitting bill, which was part of the negotiations to secure Manchin's vote for a new law with $369bn in climate spending. The bill would "unlock the potential" of energy projects that would promote energy security and support the construction of clean energy, the White House said.

If the bill gets enough votes in the Senate, it will still need broad Republican support to pass in the US House of Representative because of opposition from progressive Democrats. The bill has "fossil fuel's fingerprints all over the text" and the approval of the Mountain Valley Pipeline is the "rotten cherry on top," House Natural Resources Committee chairman Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) said.

By Chris Knight