The Southgate Project, a proposed extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline into North Carolina, has been denied a necessary water quality certificate under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act by the North Carolina Division of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ). In its August 11 letter announcing the decision, NCDEQ said:
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>>> The Division has determined that the proposed MVP Southgate project is inextricably linked to, and dependent upon, completion of the under-construction Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP Mainline) project.

>>> Without a complete and in-service MVP Mainline, MVP Southgate project’s purpose of providing “southern Virginia and North Carolina with direct pipeline access to the Marcellus and Utica gas regions in West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania” is unachievable.

>>> The uncertainty of the MVP Mainline project’s completion presents a critical risk to the achievability of the fundamental purpose of MVP Southgate. Certification of this project, without further confidence that it can achieve its stated purpose, is inappropriate and allows for avoidable environmental impacts to water quality and protected riparian buffers.

>>> The project would unnecessarily risk impacting high-quality waters and protected and critical drinking water supplies of North Carolinians. Approving construction activities and thereby allowing the most adverse environmental impacts – without certainty of the project’s utility upon completion – is inconsistent with principles of minimization. Therefore, the Division has determined that your applications are hereby denied.

MVP has 60-days to appeal the decision.