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MVP Southgate pipeline asks FERC to approve changes to route and pipe diameter

A pipeline operator is asking the federal government permission to change the length and diameter of a previously approved pipeline through parts of Virginia and North Carolina. MVP Southgate would transport natural gas from the Mountain Valley Pipeline terminus near Chatham to energy companies in North Carolina.

A map of the proposed MVP Southgate route
MVP Southgate website
A map of the proposed MVP Southgate route

MVP Southgate announced back in 2023 that it planned to make changes to this project. On Monday developers filed a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, asking to amend the project that was approved in 2020.

The new route would be shorter than originally proposed, use a much larger pipe, and wouldn’t require a compressor station. Opponents argue, this is an entirely new project, and should be subject to rigorous environmental and safety evaluations.

“With the changes to the project, rather than this being an amendment. This should be an entirely new application,” said Matt Allenbaugh with the nonprofit, Appalachian Voices. The group, and others, are also concerned about potential safety risks, because another developer recently proposed a second pipeline, called the Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project, which would run along a similar route as MVP Southgate.

“There really is not enough information and understanding and taking seriously what two pipelines running at high pressure next to each other mean,” said Kasey Kinsella, an organizer with the group 7 Directions of Service.

Both the SSEP and MVP Southgate say they will transport gas to Duke Energy in North Carolina.

In 2023, FERC granted MVP an extension to complete the pipeline by 2026, although MVP now says it will take until 2028. The SSEP pipeline would likely take longer, because it will have to go through a rigorous environmental review period necessary for any new pipeline.

Several conservation groups are suing to block FERC’s 3-year-extension of MVP Southgate.

Roxy Todd is Radio IQ's New River Valley Bureau Chief.