The Mountain Valley Pipeline could soon be carrying even more natural gas with an assist from a new compressor station to be built in Virginia. Last month, the developers outlined the idea in a presentation to shareholders in EQT Corp., a gas company that owns the largest stake in the pipeline. They haven't formally proposed the idea to federal regulators, but according to the presentation, the so-called MVP Boost project would increase capacity by 25%.
Last week, activists met to discuss the potential compressor station. They think they know where it will be located, based on a parcel MVP purchased four years ago.
"We know that they did buy 64.5 acres in '21 across from Rowe Furniture in Elliston," says Crystal Mello, a local resident and community organizer for POWHR (Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights). "We think that's the site because they do own it. There's a little platform up there they built while they were constructing the mainline. That platform looks very similar to a platform near the Roanoke gas station. I mean, it's all speculation, but it seems like that's the spot."
Mello says she's worried the compressor station would cause problems for local residents.
"The noise, pollution, it's already an overburdened area with the traffic," Mello says. "There's two sets of train tracks there just in that spot. There's Rowe Furniture, there's ProChem who was cited for releasing forever chemicals in the Roanoke River a few years ago, so it's already a pretty burdened area."
POWHR is canvassing the area, and encouraging residents to sign up for updates from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which would need to approve a compressor station. In a statement, Mountain Valley Pipeline spokesman Shawn Day said that MVP reached full capacity earlier this year and is considering an additional compressor station in Virginia. MVP will make more information available once it completes a review to gauge shipper interest.
