Mountain Valley Pipeline announced that the expected completion date for the project is now summer of 2022. The costs is expected to increase to $6.2 billion, to complete the natural gas pipeline project that runs through Southwest Virginia.
The latest in a series of such announcements was made by Equitrans Midstream Corp., the lead partner in the joint venture.
When construction began four years ago, the project was expected to be finished by late 2018 at a cost of $3.7 billion.
Equitrans attributes the latest setback to a change in the permitting process for about 420 stream and wetland crossings that remain for the 303-mile pipeline to make.
Legal challenges by environmental groups forced Mountain Valley to abandon a blanket permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It now plans to seek individual permits to trench through some of the water bodies in Virginia and West Virginia, while asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to allow drilling tunnels under others.
Although there have been numerous delays and cost increases, the company continues to very confident in the project.
