CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — 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. 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 .
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 challeng.