MVP Southgate Project Is Denied a Water Certificate by North Carolina DEQ

The Southgate Project, a proposed extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline into North
Carolina, has been denied a necessary water quality certificate under Section 401 of the Clean
Water Act by the North Carolina Division of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). In its August 11
letter announcing the decision, NCDEQ said:

• The Division has determined that the proposed MVP Southgate project is inextricably linked
  to, and dependent upon, completion of the under-construction Mountain Valley Pipeline
  (MVP Mainline) project.
• Without a complete and in-service MVP Mainline, MVP Southgate project’s purpose of
  providing “southern Virginia and North Carolina with direct pipeline access to the Marcellus
  and Utica gas regions in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania” is unachievable.
• The uncertainty of the MVP Mainline project’s completion presents a critical risk to the
  achievability of the fundamental purpose of MVP Southgate. Certification of this project,
  without further confidence that it can achieve its stated purpose, is inappropriate and allows
  for avoidable environmental impacts to water quality and protected riparian buffers.
• The project would unnecessarily risk impacting high-quality waters and protected and critical
  drinking water supplies of North Carolinians. Approving construction activities and thereby
  allowing the most adverse environmental impacts – without certainty of the project’s utility
  upon completion – is inconsistent with principles of minimization. Therefore, the Division has
  determined that your applications are hereby denied.
  MVP has 60-days to appeal the decision.