The Roanoker - January/February 2019 - VL64

ITH CONSTRUCTION under way, the
Mountain Valley Pipeline is moving
closer to bringing greater access to the
low-cost natural gas that residents and
businesses across the region demand.
The $4.6 billion, 303-mile interstate transmission pipeline is set for completion in the fourth
quarter of 2019, and will carry 2 billion cubic feet
of natural gas per day from northern West Virginia,
through the Roanoke Valley, to a connection in Pittsylvania County. The project is being built to benefit
residents in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states,
including Virginia.
Two planned taps on the pipeline will feed into
the Roanoke region's local distribution network,
owned and operated by Roanoke Gas Company.
Officials have discussed additional taps elsewhere
along the route in Virginia.
"The Mountain Valley Pipeline is important for our
future," said Joyce Waugh, president and CEO of the
Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, an early
supporter of the project. "The project will help us
keep jobs by supplying much-needed natural gas to
existing companies in need of increased supply for
their operations. It will also strengthen our region's
competitiveness in attracting employers that need
access to affordable, clean natural gas."
Announced in 2014, the MVP project went through
more than three years of exacting regulatory review
before receiving federal and state authorizations for
work to begin. In authorizing the project, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission concluded that MVP
was needed to serve public demand, and acknowledged the project team's efforts to minimize any
SPONSORED CONTENT

adverse impacts associated with its construction.
The project team made more than 700 route
adjustments during the approval process, the majority due to engineering considerations, landowner
feedback and an effort to avoid sensitive environmental, cultural and historical resources.
"Throughout all phases of review, construction
and ultimately operation, the project team has been
and will remain committed to doing this project the
right way," said Robert Cooper, MVP project manager. "Safety is our No. 1 priority, and we are steadfast
in remaining focused on building this project safely
and responsibly so that we can provide affordable,
reliable natural gas to the families and businesses
that need it for heating, cooking, manufacturing and
power generation."
While a small number of vocal opponents have
protested against cleaner natural gas and necessary infrastructure, a survey conducted in 2017 by
Mason-Dixon Polling & Research showed 62 percent
of Virginians supported the MVP project's construction. In the Roanoke region, support rose to 74
percent.
The project garnered a broad, bipartisan base
of support among elected officials, including the
governors of Virginia and West Virginia, during the
regulatory review process. There are good reasons
for such strong support.
The U.S. Department of Transportation recognizes
pipelines as the safest way to transport natural gas.
And pipelines are hardly rare. In Virginia, according
to the American Gas Association, nearly 22,000 miles
of natural gas gathering, transmission and distribution pipelines currently operate efficiently and

The Roanoker - January/February 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Roanoker - January/February 2019