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FERC Gives OK for MVP Southgate Construction to Begin in N.C.
This is a momentous occasion. Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a “Notice to Proceed with Construction” order authorizing Mountain Valley Pipeline (owned by EQT Corporation) to proceed with construction of MVP Southgate pipeline in North Carolina. This follows FERC granting permission to begin building Southgate in Virginia in April (see MVP Southgate Gets FERC Permission to Start Building in Virginia). MVP Southgate extends the original MVP from its termination in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to Rockingham County, North Carolina—about 31.3 miles. Read More “FERC Gives OK for MVP Southgate Construction to Begin in N.C.”
The same three judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit who blocked the 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) for *years* suddenly changed course in late April, ruling on an extension of MVP into North Carolina called Southgate. Big Green, represented by the Sierra Club and Appalachian Voices, sued to block a permit issued by North Carolina regulators for the Southgate project. While the three judges grumbled and complained about Southgate during oral arguments (see 
Just yesterday, MDN told you that three left-wing judges from the 4th Circuit (“Circus”) who hate the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) were back at it, badmouthing an extension of MVP into North Carolina, called Southgate (see 
In July 2024, EQT Corporation closed on a $5.4 billion deal to buy back the midstream division it had spun off in 2018 (see 
On Tuesday, seven radicalized Big Green groups filed a court challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) authorization for Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, to construct the MVP Southgate gas pipeline. The petition for review, filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), Appalachian Mountain Advocates, and Sierra Club in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit), asks the court to vacate the amended certificate of convenience and public necessity issued by FERC in December 2025. 
Several Big Green groups, including the Sierra Club, Wild Virginia, Appalachian Voices, and the Center for Biological Diversity, have filed a legal challenge against a permit issued by Virginia for the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate extension. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) approved a water permit for the project in January 2026. Big Green radicals argue that the pipeline “threatens” 138 streams, wetlands, and regional drinking water supplies. It’s the typical lawfare tactic used by the left to stall work on projects, hoping to delay them long enough that the builder (EQT in this case) gives up. Or if the builder won’t give up, they have to pay double or triple the price to construct it. That’s the game the radicals are playing. 
In August, the parents of four children under the age of 18 (from three families) filed a lawsuit on their kids’ behalf against EQT subsidiaries EQT Production Company and EQT XL Midstream Operating, claiming that emissions from a nearby compressor station and nearby shale wells operated by EQT have led to severe health-related problems for the kids (see 
We suppose it’s no surprise that left-wing Congressional Democrats from North Carolina and Virginia are attacking two natural gas pipeline projects that are close to final approval and the start of construction. One project is Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), the other is EQT’s MVP Southgate project. Both projects would be built in the same general area, starting at the same point near Chatham, Virginia, and ending near Eden, North Carolina. Both have customers ready to take their gas. Southgate recently received a favorable environmental assessment (EA) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (see 
Two pipeline kingpins are engaged in a deathmatch with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to get their competing pipeline projects approved. One is Williams’ Transco Southeast Supply Enhancement Project (SESE), the other is EQT’s MVP Southgate project. Both projects would be built in the same general area, starting at the same point near Chatham, Virginia, and ending near Eden, North Carolina. Both claim they have customers ready to take their gas. In a July FERC filing, Williams said that its project could easily handle Southgate MVP’s capacity by adding meter tubes and regulation at an existing station (see 
We continue to win so much, it feels strange. But hey, we can get used to it! Back in April 2021, we reported that the leftist Democrats who run the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) had, for the third time, rejected giving the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) Southgate project a necessary Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification permit (see 