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Mountain Valley Pipeline United States
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On record

This profile is no longer actively maintained, with the information now possibly out of date

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By: BankTrack & Oil Change International
Created on: 2017-05-29 10:30:40
Last update: 2020-09-23 20:23:23

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March 2018 protest against Mountain Valley Pipeline near Giles County, Virginia. Photo: Appalachians Against Pipelines
Sector Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas
Location
Status
Planning
Design
Agreement
Construction
Operation
Closure
Decommission
Website https://www.mountainvalleypipeline.info/

About Mountain Valley Pipeline

The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a high-pressure pipeline currently under development that would carry fracked gas 303 miles from north-western West Virginia to south central Virginia. The project was originally budgeted at USD 3.5 billion, though estimated costs have now risen to over USD 5 billion. The pipeline is a joint venture of EQT Midstream Partners (45.5%), NextEra Energy Resources (31%), Con Edison Transmission (12.5%), WGL Midstream (10%) and RGC Midstream (1%). The route of the pipeline crosses the Allegheny Highlands, threatening pristine forests, headwaters and steep, fragile terrain, as well as many residential communities, farms, and other properties all along its route. The project is facing significant opposition from landowners and residents along its path.

Latest developments

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says MVP unlikely to threaten 5 endangered species

2020-09-04 00:00:00

MVP 75-mile extension rejected by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

2020-08-11 00:00:00

Why this profile?

The Mountain Valley Pipeline will enable and incentivize the production of fracked gas and generate unnecessary emissions that would be equivalent to the pollution of 26 coal plants. The project faces  a large amount of local opposition due to the potential danger to residents within a quarter-mile blast radius, high risk of landslides and erosion, and impacts on local endangered species.

What must happen

Private banks must withdraw from financing they have already committed, and refuse any further financial support to the project. Until this happens, they face ongoing pressure, including a call from Appalachian organizers to divest from these banks.

Impacts

Social and human rights impacts

The pipeline is strongly opposed by residents along the route; the quarter-mile blast radius of the proposed pipeline puts many people in danger. Construction work has already demonstrated the risks to local groundwater reservoirs, a major concern for communities who depend on these reserves.

Impacts on landowners The threat of “eminent domain”, where the company benefits from the government’s right to acquire property against the wishes of landowners, has been widely used in this project. This has damaged people’s farming enterprises, jeopardizing their economic livelihoods. The company building the pipeline has sued landowners in order to force them to provide access to their land for construction surveying. Opponents of the pipeline have faced intense criminalization; including peaceful blockaders facing terrorism charges. According to critics, helicopters nominally used to seed anti-erosion pellets have created “an atmosphere of constant surveillance and intimidation.” On July 19 2019, construction crews dug up a tree stump which rolled down the hill towards protestors, narrowly missing them.

Environmental and climate impacts

Climate change impacts A report from Oil Change International and BOLD Alliance in February 2017 estimated the climate changing pollution from the MVP would be equivalent to 26 coal plants or 19 million passenger vehicles. These emissions come from the combustion of the gas carried by the pipeline, the emission from methane (a gas with much more severe climate impacts than CO2) which inevitably leaks throughout the gas supply chain, emissions from gas extraction, compression and processing. The expansion of pipeline capacity will enable and incentivize the production of fracked gas, with grave impacts for the local communities near fracking wells and the climate more generally. The loss of forest cover (as a result of tree-clearing for the pipeline) may also contribute to the pipeline’s climate impact.

Local environmental impacts The pipeline also has major local environmental implications. Erosion, mudslides and soil disturbances have been a major problem during construction, as documented by Mountain Valley Watch; this has led to massive influxes of mud to waterways, threatening local animal and plant life, some of which are endangered species. One expert noted of an 8 acre landslide that “events like this are almost expected; MVP chose to route…this titanic 42-inch diameter, 303-mile pipeline across several hundred of miles of “high landslide potential” areas.” The Virginia department of environmental quality sued the company building the pipeline in December 2018 for “repeated erosion, sediment and stormwater violations.” The route has 986 waterbody crossings, leading to concerns about ongoing water contamination, including from chemically-coated pipes which have sat outside for long periods of time due to construction delays. Groups have temporarily halted the project on the grounds of the threat it poses to fish, bats and plants in the region, including designated endangered species (see Appalachian Voices for more detail).

The U.S. Forest Service is assessing major impacts to the Jefferson National Forest. The project has already downed trees to clear a 125-foot wide right of way that runs along 3.5 miles of the forest.

Governance

Bank policies

The following bank investment policies apply to this project:
Barclays
csr policies
2016-03-27 00:00:00

Environmental and Social Risk Briefing Oil & Gas

2016-03-27 00:00:00 | Barclays
Credit Suisse
csr policies
2019-02-04 00:00:00

Statement on climate change

2019-02-04 00:00:00 | Credit Suisse

Applicable norms and standards

OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

Timeline

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says MVP unlikely to threaten 5 endangered species

2020-09-04 00:00:00

Nearly a year after the legal decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals that paused pipeline construction, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service determined that MVP, should it continue, is not likely to threaten the endangered or threatened species in question. Local groups take issue with this conclusion, as the project has violated common sense environmental protections over and over again. Restarting construction still depends on the FERC’s stop-work order being lifted, as well as a renewed permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to burrow under nearly 1,000 streams and wetlands. (Roanoke Times)

MVP 75-mile extension rejected by North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality

2020-08-11 00:00:00

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality rejected Mountain Valley Pipeline’s proposal to extend the project into central North Carolina. The extension would have added 75 miles to the planned 300-mile pipeline route through Virginia, but was denied over concerns that the Virginia pipeline construction would ever be completed. The original project has been held up over paused permits related to impacts on endangered species. (The Roanoke Times)

MVP prepares for construction completion by early 2021

2020-06-11 00:00:00

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is currently at 92% completion of the total project work, with the expected in-service date targeted for “early 2021". The project completion is contingent on receiving the assessment of the Biological Opinion and the FERC lifting the stop-work order issued last year to determine whether the project complies with the Endangered Species Act. These judicial decisions and regulatory setbacks have not only delayed the project timeline, but have also increased project costs. At present, MVP now expects the total project costs to exceed its already increased project estimate of $5.4 billion by 5%. (Business Wire).

FERC orders all work to cease until further impact assessment complete

2019-10-16 00:00:00

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ordered all work on the Mountain Valley Pipeline be stopped except stabilization and restoration activities, primarily due to threats to four endangered or threatened species in the area. This action followed a federal court appeals decision to pause the permit for the pipeline until further review of the impact can be completed. However, the FERC’s orders leave it up to the company to define “stabilization” and to self-regulate on whether its continued activities would cause harm. (Virginia Mercury)

MVP receives back-to-back setbacks related to environmental impacts

2019-10-11 00:00:00

The U.S. Court of Appeals put a hold on two required permits for construction until a complete assessment of the Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement is finalized, which considers the impacts to endangered species from the project. This decision immediately follows an announcement that Mountain Valley Pipeline will pay a penalty of over $2 million to the Commonwealth of Virginia due to water quality violations. (Sierra Club)

FERC gives the go ahead to Mountain Valley Pipeline

2017-10-13 00:00:00

On October 13, 2017, FERC granted approval for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. FERC endorsed the 42-inch diameter buried pipeline, slated to transport natural gas extracted by hydraulic fracturing in the Appalachian Basin (The Roanoke Times).

FERC's final environmental impact statement for Mountain Valley Pipeline elicits controversy

2017-06-23 00:00:00

The federal agency that decides the fate of interstate natural gas pipeline projects declared on June the 23rd that the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline “would result in limited adverse environmental impacts, with the exception of impacts on forest” — a conclusion project opponents said offers additional evidence of the agency’s bias toward approving pipelines (The Roanoke Times).

Groups challenge W.Va. certification for proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline

2017-06-09 00:00:00

Richmond, VA — Environmental groups filed suit today challenging West Virginia’s certification for the proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, which would transport fracked gas across West Virginia and Virginia. The proposed 300-mile, 42-inch pipeline would cross primarily undeveloped, rural agricultural and forested lands. The project would fragment the heart of one of the largest remaining wild landscapes in the United States, cutting through national forest land and the Appalachian Trail and crossing more than 1,000 streams and wetlands and several major rivers in its path (appvoices.org).

AppalMad and Sierra Club File Rebuttal to Mountain Valley Pipeline Claims

2017-05-15 00:00:00

Karst geology experts have strongly condemned Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Draft Environmental Impact submittals to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regarding pipeline construction in sensitive karst terrain (landscapes formed from the dissolution of soluble rock). A 14 page rebuttal, prepared by Ernst Kastning and submitted on behalf of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club by Appalachian Mountain Advocates attorneys Benjamin Luckett and Joseph Lovett describes the risks to Southwest Virginia and West Virginia communities from pipeline construction.  Damage would include groundwater contamination, groundwater recharge, surface collapse and other dangerous consequences of building a massive infrastructure project in a seismic area populated with caves and sinkholes.

Environmental Impact Statement delayed

2017-04-04 00:00:00

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in a notice that it is pushing back its environmental review schedule for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) and related Equitrans Expansion Project (EEP) by a little over three months (NGI).

Financiers

The clearest way to answer the question of who is financing the Mountain Valley Pipeline is to look at the finance for EQT Midstream Partners (EQM). EQM is the largest investor and the driving force behind the pipeline. A report from Oil Change/BOLD Alliance concludes that the 18 banks behind EQM's USD 750 million revolving credit facility from February 2014, and the 11 banks that purchased notes from its November 2016 USD 500 million bond offering, are the banks most closely linked to EQM's financing of the pipeline. More details on the banks financing EQM is provided below.

Related companies

Project sponsor

EQM Midstream Partners United States

Other companies

Con Edison Transmission United States

NextEra Energy Resources United States

RGC Midstream United States

WGL Midstream United States

News

| |
Type:
Year:
blog
external news
our news

New report: Indigenous resistance disrupts billions of tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually

2021-09-01 | Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International
blog
external news
our news

Banking on Climate Chaos 2021: World’s 60 largest banks have poured USD 3.8 trillion into fossil fuels since Paris Agreement

Even amidst the global economic downturn, fossil fuel financing numbers were higher in 2020 than 2016
2021-03-24 | Nijmegen | BankTrack, Indigenous Environmental Network, Oil Change International, Rainforest Action Network, Reclaim Finance, Sierra Club
blog
external news
our news

Mountain Valley Pipeline gets key approval but hit with petition challenging it

2021-01-12 | WPXI
blog
external news
our news

Mountain Valley Pipeline to cost more, take longer to build

2020-11-05 | Roanoke | NBC 12
blog
external news
our news

Virginia seeks more fines against Mountain Valley Pipeline

2020-10-23 | Roanoke | CBS 19 News
blog
external news
our news

EQT looks to sell Mountain Valley Pipeline capacity as upland line construction gets ready to begin

https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/energy_and_environment/eqt-looks-to-sell-mountain-valley-pipeline-capacity-as-upland-line-construction-gets-ready-to/article_bc2f7e70-9b65-5c12-a7d7-555dab147590.html
2020-10-22 | Charleston Gazette-Mail
blog
external news
our news

Mountain Valley Pipeline faces fresh lawsuit from conservation groups

2019-08-13 | NS Energy
blog
external news
our news

Delay Puts $3.7 Billion Shale Gas Pipeline at Risk of Overhaul

2018-08-06 | Bloomberg
blog
external news
our news

U.S. court order stops some work on Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline in West Virginia

2018-06-25 | Reuters
blog
external news
our news

Big Banks Face Fossil Fuel Resistance at Annual Meetings

Guest blog by Ben Cushing, Campaign Representative Beyond Dirty Fuels
2018-06-07 | Ben Cushing, Sierra Club
blog
external news
our news

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Opponents Rally Outside Bank of America Shareholder Meeting in Charlotte

Crowd calls on Bank of America to drop financing for fossil fuels
2018-04-25 | United States | Sierra Club
blog
external news
our news

FERC's final environmental impact statement for Mountain Valley Pipeline elicits controversy

2017-06-23 | The Roanoke Times
blog
external news
our news

Virginia residents vow to fight on after controversial pipeline gets favorable review

2017-06-23 | ThinkProgress
blog
external news
our news

Downs: Mountain Valley Pipeline disrespects our landscape, our opinions

2017-05-22 | The Roanoke Times
blog
external news
our news

Virginia landowners, environmentalists urge divestment to stop proposed natural gas pipeline

2017-05-22 | ThinkProgress
blog
external news
our news

The Money Behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline: Is Your Bank Financing Another Fracked-Gas Disaster?

2017-05-18 | Oil Change International
blog
external news
our news

The Money Behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline: Is Your Bank Financing Another Fracked-Gas Disaster?

2017-05-18 | Oil Change International
blog
external news
our news

WV DEP chief Caperton refuses hearing on MVP pipeline appeal

2017-05-16 | Charleston Gazette-Mail
blog
external news
our news

Cutting to the Core: setting a Precedent for Pipeline Proposals

2017-04-03 | Ratc.org
blog
external news
our news

New Mountain Valley Pipeline threatens stretch of the Appalachian Trail

2016-12-20 | Mic.com
blog
external news
our news

Pipelines Explained: How Safe are America’s 2.5 Million Miles of Pipelines?

2016-12-06 | ProPublica

Documents

Type:
Year:
other documents
2016-09-30 00:00:00

Draft Environmental Impact Statement

2016-09-30 00:00:00 | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
other documents
2016-07-03 00:00:00

An expert report on geologic hazards in the karst regions of Virginia and West Virginia

2016-07-03 00:00:00 | Ernst H. Kasting Ph.D. Professor of Geology, Radford University
ngo documents
2017-02-28 00:00:00

The Mountain Valley Pipeline: greenhouse gas emissions briefing

2017-02-28 00:00:00 | Oil Change International, Bold Alliance
ngo documents
2017-05-18 00:00:00

The money behind the Moutain Valley Pipeline: is your bank financing another fracked-gas disaster?

2017-05-18 00:00:00 | Oil Change International; Bold Alliance

Media

Mountain Valley Pipeline

Proposed route of MVP February 2017 protest against Mountain Valley Pipeline in Pearisburg, Virginia Project schedule of MVP

Links

Appalachian Mountain Advocates

Devoted to fighting proposed pipelines on several fronts

http://www.appalmad.org/pipelines/

EcoWatch profile webpage of Mountain Valley Pipeline

https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/mountain-valley-pipeline

DefundMVP

Campaign webpage by Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights coalition (POWHR.org)

https://powhr.org/divestmvp/

Website Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR)

POWHR is an interstate coalition representing individuals and groups from counties in Virginia and West Virginia dedicated to protecting the water, local ecology, heritage, land rights, human rights of individuals, communities and regions from harms caused by the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.

https://powhr.org/

Why stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline?

Blog by Appalachian Voices

http://appvoices.org/2016/11/01/why-stop-the-mountain-valley-pipeline/

The price of oil

Website by Oil Change International, focused on exposing the true costs of fossil fuels and facilitating the coming transition towards clean energy

http://priceofoil.org/

Brief history

In June 2014, EQT Corporation and NextEra US Gas Assets (a subsidiary of NextEra Energy), announced the commencement of the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, which is designed to connect Marcellus and Utica natural gas supply to markets in the south-east United States. EQT Midstream, an affiliate of EQT, will operate the pipeline and owns the largest stake in the joint venture. Meanwhile, EQT, the largest gas producer in the region, is signed up to use nearly 65% of the pipeline's capacity.

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released its Final Environmental Impact Statement for the project on June 23, 2017, finally approved the pipeline on October 13, 2017. The pipeline has faced strong opposition of various kinds, including blockades, mass rallies, and regulatory and legal challenges. As a result, the company has pushed back the expected completion date to mid-2020. In August 2019, a Virginia state regulator issued a stop-work order to the company due to the lack of erosion-control measures, risking local water quality. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has also required the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to re-open consultation regarding its permit for the pipeline in relation to endangered species protection.

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