2020-19376. Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Request for Extension of Time

Take notice that on August 25, 2020, Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (Mountain Valley) requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) grant an extension of time, until October 13, 2022, to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline Project (Project), as authorized in the February 19, 2019 Order Issuing Certificates and Granting Abandonment (Certificate Order).^[1]

Mountain Valley states it has not completed Project construction due to unforeseen litigation and permitting delays outside of Mountain Valley's control. This includes litigation directly challenging Project permits and authorizations as well as litigation associated with other infrastructure projects. These challenges have affected, directly or indirectly, Project permits and authorizations from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Park Service. Because of these permitting challenges, Mountain Valley states it will not be able to complete construction and make the Project facilities available for service by October 13, 2020.

This notice establishes a 15-calendar day intervention and comment period deadline. Any person wishing to comment on Mountain Valley's request for an extension of time may do so. No reply comments or answers will be considered. If you wish to obtain legal status by becoming a party to the proceedings for this request, you should, on or before the comment date stated below, file a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the Regulations under the Natural Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10).^[2]

As a matter of practice, the Commission itself generally acts on requests for extensions of time to complete construction for Natural Gas Act facilities when such requests are contested before order issuance. For those extension requests that are contested,^[3] the Commission will aim to issue an order acting on the request within 45 days.^[4] The Commission will address all arguments relating to whether the applicant has demonstrated there is good cause to grant the extension.^[5] The Commission will not consider arguments that re-litigate the issuance of the certificate order, including whether the Commission properly found the project to be in the public convenience and necessity and whether the Commission's environmental analysis for the certificate complied with the National Environmental Policy Act.^[6] At the time a pipeline requests an extension of time, orders on certificates of public convenience and necessity are final and the Commission will not re-litigate their issuance.^[7] The OEP Director, or his or her designee, will act on all of those extension requests that are uncontested.

In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. At this time, the Commission has suspended access to Commission's Public Reference Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact FERC at [e-mail] or call toll-free, [phone] or TYY, [phone].

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings of comments, protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the eFile link at http://www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically may mail similar pleadings to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. Hand delivered submissions in docketed proceedings should be delivered to Health and Human Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on September 11, 2020.

Dated: August 27, 2020.

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, 161 FERC 61,043 (2017), order on reh'g, 163 FERC 61,197 (2018) (Certificate Order), aff'd sub. nom., Appalachian Voices v. FERC, No. 17-1271, 2019 WL 847199 (D.C. Cir. Feb. 19, 2019).

2.  Only motions to intervene from entities that were party to the underlying proceeding will be accepted. Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC 61,144, at P 39 (2020).

3.  Contested proceedings are those where an intervenor disputes any material issue of the filing. 18 CFR 385.2201(c)(1) (2019).

4.  Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC 61,144, at P 40 (2020).

5.  Id. at P 40.

6.  Similarly, the Commission will not re-litigate the issuance of an NGA section 3 authorization, including whether a proposed project is not inconsistent with the public interest and whether the Commission's environmental analysis for the permit order complied with NEPA.

7.  Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC 61,144, at P 40 (2020).