MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Va. – Construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline is back on track.
Wednesday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted final approval for work to resume on the 303-mile natural gas pipeline that will run from West Virginia to Pittsylvania County.
This comes after Congress pushed the project through as part of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which President Joe Biden signed into law earlier this month.
Construction first began in 2018 and has been met with many protests, delays, and legal battles over environmental impacts.
Denali Nalamalapu, the Communications Director for the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights (POWHR) Coalition, says they’ll continue to fight.
“We are currently choking on wildfire smoke from Canadian wildfires caused by climate change,” Nalamalapu said. “We’re seeing friends and relatives dying in Texas from the heatwaves. It’s a real slap in the face to see our ‘Climate President’ sacrifice Appalachians for his political gain.”
Environmental groups have already filed appeals, calling the move unconstitutional.
Natalie Cox, a Mountain Valley Pipeline spokesperson, released the following statement to 10 News.
The company says the project is nearly 94 percent complete and should be finished by the end of 2023.