McClellan, Scott, Foushee, Manning Urge FERC to Reconsider “Redesigned” Mountain Valley Pipeline Plan
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representatives Jennifer McClellan (VA-04), Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), and Kathy Manning (NC-06) called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to require a new certificate application from Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) for its “redesigned” Southgate Project – a natural gas pipeline extension that would run from southern Virginia into northwestern North Carolina. On December 19, 2023, FERC approved an extension of the construction window for the original Pipeline. Ten days later, on December 29, 2023, MVP announced that it had “redesigned” the Southgate Project.
“The changes Mountain Valley proposes are substantial and go to the heart of the Commission’s prior public interest analysis. Fairness and the National Environmental Policy Act require that the Commission affords our constituents a robust and transparent review process for this new project,” the Members wrote.
“The bottom line is that the redesigned Southgate Project will deliver a substantially greater volume of gas for a different purpose than the Commission approved in 2020,” the Members continued. “We believe that Mountain Valley’s redesigned Southgate Project goes beyond a set of modest changes to an existing certificate—it is a new pipeline, one with a different purpose and different environmental impacts, including an increased contribution to the climate crisis.
The Members’ advocacy against the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate Extension to FERC:
- In June, Representative McClellan and Representatives Manning and Foushee led separate, successful efforts to extend the public comment period for the Southgate certificate extension.
- In August, Representatives McClellan, Scott, Foushee, and Manning led 28 Members of Congress in urging FERC Secretary Kimberly Boss to deny an extension of the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the MVPSouthgate project. The Commission failed to respond to the Members of Congress.
- On December 18th, ahead of the Commission’s hearing to approve an extension of the construction window for the original pipeline, Representatives McClellan, Scott, Foushee, and Manning sent a second letter urging FERC to deny the extension.
The full text of today’s letter can be found here.