The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the MVP Southgate project on Thursday, June 18, 2020, marking an important milestone in the project’s regulatory review.
The certificate, which recognizes the clear public need for the proposed project, follows more than two years of planning, development, and review. The proposed 75-mile underground pipeline would tie into the Mountain Valley Pipeline near Chatham, Virginia, and transport natural gas to delivery points in Rockingham and Alamance counties in North Carolina. Dominion Energy North Carolina (DENC), formerly PSNC Energy, is the local distribution company serving much of central North Carolina and is the anchor shipper on the MVP Southgate project.
DENC has demonstrated to the North Carolina Utilities Commission that MVP Southgate is the best option for meeting growing residential and business demand for natural gas.
Since the inception of the project, the MVP Southgate team has worked diligently with stakeholders, including landowners, tribes, non-governmental organizations, local officials, and state and federal agencies, to identify the best possible route for the proposed pipeline. Approximately half of the route is collocated along existing utility corridors.
A Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS), issued in February 2020, concluded the project would result in limited adverse impacts and acknowledged the hundreds of route adjustments made to accommodate landowner requests, engineering considerations and avoid sensitive resources. The FEIS also noted the project is the preferred option for meeting the intended purpose of providing new natural gas supply access to central North Carolina and southern Virginia.
Construction of this important infrastructure project is expected to create approximately 1,700 jobs and generate more than $10 million in state and local tax revenues in North Carolina and Virginia. After entering service, the MVP Southgate project is expected to generate more than $4.5 million in new annual ad valorem tax revenues to local communities along its route and provide the region with the additional supply access needed to meet residential and business demand for affordable, clean-burning natural gas.
Construction is expected to start after the project receives all necessary permits and approvals, and per conditions outlined in the FERC’s certificate order.
