The Mountain Valley Pipeline is considering an expansion of the project鈥檚 capacity that would include building a compressor station in Montgomery County.
The concept 鈥 which is in its infancy 鈥 was mentioned in an earnings call Wednesday by the pipeline鈥檚 owner, EQT Corp., and detailed in an announcement on the company鈥檚 customer portal.
A month-long open season, or a bidding session held to determine if there are interested customers for the additional natural gas that would be provided by the pipeline, ended Wednesday.
The 303-mile buried pipeline that passes through Southwest Virginia currently carries up to 2 billion cubic feet of gas per day. According to a notice to potential customers, its capacity would be expanded to 2.5 billion cubic feet per day.
To do that, Mountain Valley would enhance three existing compressor stations in West Virginia and add a fourth one near the Montgomery-麻花视频 county line, in the Elliston area.
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The facilities are used to boost the pressure of gas to move it along the pipeline, which begins in northern West Virginia and cuts through the New River and 麻花视频 valleys to connect with another pipeline near the North Carolina line.
鈥淢ountain Valley has structured the proposed MVP Boost Project to leverage existing pipeline infrastructure to the greatest extent possible, thereby minimizing the need for new construction and associated environmental impacts while supporting the region鈥檚 growing natural gas demand,鈥 the notice reads.
Additional information will be available 鈥渁fter Mountain Valley completes a comprehensive review of the open season,鈥 company spokesman Shawn Day wrote in an email Thursday.
By seeking bids from potential customers, pipeline companies can determine if there鈥檚 sufficient demand for an expansion before seeking approval from federal regulators. Should the plans move forward, Mountain Valley says it would target an in-service date in mid-2029.
A map included in the company鈥檚 notice to potential customers shows the compressor station would be located near a bridge that carries U.S. Route 460 across the 麻花视频 River in the Elliston area.
More than a decade ago, the company considered building a compressor station in either Montgomery or 麻花视频 County, drawing concerns from opponents about noise and air pollution.
Mountain Valley did not include the station in its final application, which was approved in 2017 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
After a decade of strong opposition 鈥 triggered largely by the project鈥檚 environmental impact on the steams and rural lands through which it passes, and by the company鈥檚 use of eminent domain to take private land needed for the pipeline 鈥 Mountain Valley was completed and went into service on June 14, 2024.
The controversy may be renewed if approval for a compressor station is sought.
Crystal Mello, a nearby resident and community organizer for the Protect Our Water, Heritage, Rights anti-pipeline coalition, said she was not surprised by the news, considering Mountain Valley鈥檚 purchase of a large piece of land in the area.
鈥淢y stomach is turning knowing that if this capacity increase happens, with unanswered questions about the pipe safety, then people I love are in even more danger,鈥 Mello said in a statement released by POWHR.
