The developer of a planned 71-mile extension into North Carolina of the long-embattled Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline gained federal approval on Dec. 19 to extend its construction through 2026. Ten days later, it told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the line miles now will be reduced by more than half, but the project needed until 2028 to complete.
Equitrans Midstream Corp., said in a letter to the agency that recently completed negotiations with two utilities required a redesign of the Southgate project—to reduce its North Carolina length to 31 miles and eliminate a compressor station whose permit was denied by Virginia regulators in 2021.