Manchin-supported Mountain Valley Pipeline set to finish by year-end with debt agreement.

Mountain Valley Pipeline Could Be Completed This Year After Congress Approves Legislation

The developer behind the Mountain Valley Pipeline said the project could be completed this calendar year after Congress approved legislation designed to expedite the construction and operation of the interstate natural gas pipeline.

The agreement President Joe Biden reached with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to raise the debt ceiling, which passed the Senate on Thursday and is headed to Biden’s desk, orders federal agencies to issue all outstanding authorizations within 21 days to allow construction to recommence on the highly-litigated project, which has the particular backing of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

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Equitrans, the pipeline company behind the project, said it remains focused on completing the remaining authorizations and is targeting the end of the year to finish construction.

“Given the legislation, and assuming the timely issuance of the few remaining authorizations, we anticipate MVP crews will work to complete construction of the project by year-end 2023, at an estimated total project cost of approximately $6.6 billion,” a spokesperson said.

The White House has yet to indicate when Biden will sign the legislation. If enacted Friday, agencies responsible for the outstanding authorizations, such as the Army Corps of Engineers, would have to issue them by June 23.

The pipeline is largely complete, but opponents of the project have used multiple lawsuits to stall it in recent years, with judges invalidating permits and authorizations issued by various agencies, such as the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management.

• Completing the project was a major priority of the West Virginia congressional delegation, especially Manchin, who celebrated the pipeline’s approval on Friday by traveling to an industrial site in Mount Hope, West Virginia, where unassembled pipe for the project is stored.
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