Mountain Valley Pipeline’s initial schedule anticipated that construction of the joint venture’s $3.5 billion, 301-mile natural gas pipeline would begin in December.
That won’t happen.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission reported Tuesday that a final environmental impact statement for the controversial project likely will be available in March. Commissioners would then have 90 days to make a decision whether to approve the project — which means the earliest that construction could begin would be June 2017.
That timetable hinges on FERC issuing a draft environmental impact statement for the pipeline in September. Its staff and a consultant have been working on a draft EIS for months, frequently peppering Mountain Valley for more information, clarifications or corrections.
