April 29, 2021: State Reissues Denial of Water Quality Certification for MVP Southgate Pipeline
Decision Letter
August 11, 2020: The Division of Water Resources has denied the 401 Water Quality Certification and the Riparian Buffer Authorization request for this project.
Decision letter
Hearing Officer's Report
Statement from Secretary Regan
Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) proposes to construct and operate the Southgate Project, which includes 73.7 miles of underground natural gas transmission pipeline and associated aboveground facilities in Virginia and North Carolina. In North Carolina, approximately 40 miles of the pipeline will run from the Virginia border southeast through Rockingham County, east of Eden and Reidsville, southeast through Alamance County, east of Burlington, before terminating southeast of Graham.
Associated with the construction of the proposed Southgate Project would be contractor yards, staging areas, temporary extra workspaces, and access roads. In general, as described by Mountain Valley, the purpose of Southgate Project is to meet the specific requests for natural gas transportation service of its main user, Dominion Energy (formerly PSNC Energy), which provides gas service to customers in 27 counties in North Carolina. Mountain Valley states that the project will provide additional gas for Dominion Energy to meet its projected supply needs via interconnections with the under-construction Mountain Valley Pipeline project in southern Virginia and the interstate East Tennessee Natural Gas Transmission, LLC (East Tennessee) pipeline in North Carolina. This gas would be transported to two new delivery points on the Dominion Energy distribution system in Rockingham and Alamance Counties. The project would have the capacity to transport 375 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.
DEQ has been engaged with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sister state agencies, and MVP Southgate as the project moves through permitting and certification. Because the Southgate Project is an interstate pipeline, the decision-making authority for the project rests with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. However, MVP cannot commence project-related activities until such time as it receives all of the required permits, authorizations, and certificates from applicable federal agencies (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Army Corps, etc.), state agencies (NC DEQ, NC Department of Natural and Cultural Resources and the analogous agencies in Virginia), and local governments.
DEQ’s responsibilities with respect to the MVP Southgate Project are:
- Issuing the 401 water quality certification for stream and wetland crossings
- Approving Sediment and Erosion Control Plans for land-disturbing activities of one or more acre
- Issuing permits for stormwater discharges from permitted activities
FERC Docket Online
To access the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Dockets on the MVP Southgate Project:
- Go to: https://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/search/fercgensearch.asp
- Select the desired date range for retrieved documents
For materials in the certificate for public convenience and necessity docket:
- Type “CP19-14” in the Docket Number field
For materials in the pre-filing environmental review docket:
3. Type “PF18-4” in the Docket Number field
- Click “Submit” and the resulting documents will open in a new tab
FERC Documents
June 18, 2020: Federal Regulatory Commission Order Issuing Certificate
February 14, 2020: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Issues Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS)
November 22, 2019: Notice of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) revised schedule for the completion of the Environmental Impact Statement for the MVP Southgate Project
July 2019: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) draft Environmental Impact Statement
DEQ Comments
Sept.16, 2019: Comments on the draft Environmental Impact Statement
Nov. 5, 2018: Comments Regarding the Demonstrated Need and the Public Interest of the Mountain Valley Pipeline-Southgate Extension Project
Oct. 15, 2018: Comments on the Draft Resource Report
Sept. 10, 2018: Comments on the Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement
MVP Comments/Documents
Oct. 21, 2019: Responses to Comments Received on the MVP Southgate Project
May 3, 2018: Request to Initiate NEPA Pre-Filing Process from MVP Southgate
Additional Resources
Learn About FERC and the Federal Review Process
Mountain Valley, LLC is seeking a 401 water quality certification to install approximately 4.3 miles of 24-inch diameter pipeline, approximately 42.7 miles of 16-inch diameter pipeline, and appurtenances in Rockingham and Alamance Counties. The impact from the project will permanently impact 0.02 acres of 404 jurisdictional wetlands, and temporarily impact 17,726.29 linear feet of jurisdictional streams, 6,538 square feet of jurisdictional open waters, and 13.95 acres of 404 jurisdictional wetlands. The applicant will also need a major variance from the Environmental Management Commission from the Jordan Lake Buffer Rules.
The Division of Water Resources requested additional information on January 28, 2020, for the application for a major variance from the Jordan Lake Buffer Rules and for the application for the 401 water quality certification.
All up-to-date documents and correspondence related to the 401 and Jordan Buffer application for the MVP Southgate project, including the application for the major variance to the Jordan Lake Buffer Rules can be found here. These files are updated regularly.
August 11, 2020: The Division of Water Resources has denied the 401 water quality certification and the riparian buffer authorization request.
An erosion and sedimentation control plan is required when a project is expected to disturb more than one acre. Construction projects must also receive a stormwater permit for land disturbances of more than one acre. Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC submitted an erosion and sedimentation control plan to the N.C. Division of Energy, Mineral and Land Resources which was denied. Please see the disapproval letter below.
Oct. 18, 2019: Disapproval letter for Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan