Two different pipeline projects are being proposed in Pittsylvania County. The federal government released an environmental assessment of one of them, concluding one pipeline may be sufficient.
The report by staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife Service, looked at the environmental impacts for the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Southgate project, which would transport natural gas from Pittsylvania County into North Carolina.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, already approved the pipeline’s original plan in 2020, but state regulators in Virginia and North Carolina denied air and water permits. MVP proposed an amended application earlier this year.
Meanwhile, a different company, Williams, is proposing extending their Transco pipeline system with a new project, called the Southeast Supply Enhancement project. According to FERC, Transco has said in court filings their project could transport all the gas needed for MVP, if they were allowed more power at one of their compressor stations.
Jessica Sims with the group Appalachian Voices said residents have concerns about multiple pipelines being built next to each other.
“You’re putting a strain on some of the exact same water resources for both, specifically the Dan River, which is a large source of recreation for a lot of people in the area too,” Sims said.
She also pointed to safety concerns if two pipelines coexist along the same route.
“The blast zone of that area is expanded that much more when you have two very close high pressure fracked gas methane pipelines, so there’s additional concern about that in terms of safety,” Sims said.
The FERC report finds no significant environmental impact in MVP’s amended version. But they did conclude if Transco could transport all the gas needed, one pipeline would have less impact than two. Their analysis did not consider non-environmental aspects of the project objectives, such as supply diversity and other market issues.
In an emailed statement to RadioIQ, MVP spokesperson Shawn Day responded, “the vast majority of North Carolina’s natural gas supply has historically been controlled by a single provider. For years, the North Carolina Utilities Commission has recognized the state needs an additional interstate natural gas transmission provider to diversify the state’s natural gas supply and promote competition,” Day said. “Put simply, the amended MVP Southgate project is necessary to meet North Carolina’s critical needs for energy supply diversity and resilience.”
FERC is accepting public comments on MVP Southgate until November 3. For assistance, contact FERC (866) 208-3676.
