EQT gets OK to resume work on Mountain Valley pipeline

The developer of a natural gas pipeline between West Virginia and Virginia can resume work on the vast majority of the $3.7bn, 303-mile project after regulators relaxed a construction freeze issued earlier this month.

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), in an order issued today, authorized crews to finish construction and right-of-way restoration on more than 90pc of the pipeline's route. That decision mostly reverses an order issued on 3 August that immediately halted work on the 1.9 Bcf/d (57mn m³/d) pipeline.

Pipeline developer EQT is still blocked from working on a 25-mile segment near the Jefferson National Forest because it lacks a required right-of-way permit to cross federal land. An appeals court in Virginia last month threw out that permit after finding flaws in the environmental review underlying its approval.

EQT said the order would allow the company to "bring back a significant amount of workers who were temporarily suspended from their duties on the project." It plans to coordinate with agencies to resolve the remaining permitting issues. EQT recently delayed the in-service date for the pipeline until the fourth quarter of 2019, a year later than originally planned.

FERC's decision to allow construction to restart marks an abrupt change from earlier this month when it raised concerns that, because of the court decision, there was a risk of disturbing the environment for a pipeline that might have to be abandoned or relocated. But the agency said today the project route "no longer seems in question" based on a new review completed on 24 August.

The US Bureau of Land Management in the review, which was released today, found alternative routes for the pipeline, such as one sharing a right-of-way with the 1.4 Bcf/d Atlantic Coast pipeline, would be "impractical" because of technical difficulties or the inability to serve certain markets. That review partially responds to one of the issues the appeals court flagged last month.

The other problem the appeals court found was related to how construction would affect the build-up of sediment in streams and rivers nearby the Jefferson National Forest. The US Forest Service is responsible for completing the review, which is needed before the company can obtain a new right-of-way permit.

FERC already partially relaxed its work stoppage, most recently on 16 August, to allow construction on about 100 miles of the project. EQT has argued it is so far along in construction, with vegetation cleared and pipeline strung out on many parts of the right-of-way, that halting work would result in more environmental damage. FERC today agreed and found continuing construction would "best mitigate further environmental impacts."

Environmentalists are already challenging in court FERC's decision to allow some construction to resume. The Sierra Club, one of the litigants, did not immediately respond to comment on the latest order.