Operations of the hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline can begin, regulators say

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline was given the go-ahead Tuesday to start operating, six years after construction began at more than double its original estimated cost.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the 303-mile (500-kilometer) Mountain Valley Pipeline project across rugged mountainsides in West Virginia and Virginia over longstanding objections from environmental groups, landowners and some elected officials. Project developers told regulators on Monday that the pipeline was complete.

''We are pleased with the agencies' decisions and the related communications regarding in-service authorization for the MVP project,'' Natalie Cox, a spokesperson for the pipeline's leading developer, Equitrans Midstream Corp., said in a statement Tuesday night. ''Final preparations are underway to begin commercial operations.''

The $7.85 billion project has withstood weather delays, a maze of court and construction permit challenges and regulator scrutiny. It is designed to meet growing energy demands in the South and mid-Atlantic by transporting gas from the Marcellus and Utica fields in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Congress ordered that all necessary permits be issued for the pipeline last year as part of a bipartisan bill to increase the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law last June. Among the key votes for last year's sweeping legislation was U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia independent. Manchin has called the pipeline ''a crucial piece of energy infrastructure'' that is good for global supply and American energy security.

Last July, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the pipeline's construction to resume after a federal appeals court had blocked the work despite congressional approval.

Environmental groups argued that Congress overstepped its authority and have challenged the pipeline over its potential impact on endangered species. They also say it causes climate-altering pollution from greenhouse gases and contributes to erosion that will ruin soil and water quality. Part of the route includes national forest land.

On Monday, the pipeline developers told FERC in a filing that multiple shippers were prepared to start the flow of gas along the pipeline, ''which further heightens the need to prompt authorization to meet market demands.''

First proposed in 2015, the pipeline's route includes 11 counties in West Virginia, six in Virginia and three compressor stations in West Virginia. It has been cited over the years for dozens of violations of environmental laws meant to control erosion and sedimentation.

Frustrated residents complained the pipeline altered pristine landscapes and muddied their clear springs that supply drinking water. In some places along the construction route, protesters locked themselves to heavy equipment or blocked access, bringing work to a temporary halt. In one Virginia county last year, heavy machinery was set on fire.

After the pipeline operators initially asked FERC in April to issue the final authorization by May 23, a segment of pipe burst in southwestern Virginia on May 1 during pressurized water testing conducted to check for leaks and flaws. The damaged section was replaced and the operators investigated the cause of the incident.

The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors in Virginia asked FERC on May 13 to hold off placing the pipeline in service until safety testing and remediation was completed. Mountain Valley subsequently pushed back the targeted in-service date to early June due to the ongoing construction.

In a phone call with FERC earlier on Tuesday, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, a unit of the U.S. Department of Transportation, said it had no objections if FERC were to authorize the pipeline operator's request to begin service.

''We find that Mountain Valley has adequately stabilized the areas disturbed by construction and that restoration and stabilization of the construction work area is proceeding satisfactorily,'' Terry Turpin, director of FERC's Office of Energy Projects, said in a letter to Equitrans Midstream on Tuesday.