Mountain Valley Pipeline to receive additional oversight - Roanoke Times
Mountain Valley Pipeline to receive additional oversight
A federal safety agency is ordering Mountain Valley Pipeline to take additional steps to inspect and repair any sections of pipe that may have been damaged by exposure to the elements during long delays in construction.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issued a consent order Tuesday.
The action, which follows an informal consultation with lead pipeline partner Equitrans Midstream Corp., was taken to address concerns that prolonged exposure to sunlight may have worn thin a protective coating on the pipe meant to curb corrosion once it’s buried.
KTA-Tator Inc. will serve as an independent, third-party expert to review Mountain Valley’s process of inspecting the pipes and re-applying the coating when necessary.
In a filing late Tuesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Mountain Valley wrote that “transparently outlining the steps being taken by the project team to responsibly complete construction is of critical importance and will reinforce public confidence in the safe operation of the pipeline.”
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In recent comments to FERC, pipeline opponents have said PHMSA was taking too long to act after filing a proposed safety order on Aug. 11.
As legal challenges have delayed construction of a natural gas pipeline that will run through the New River and Roanoke Valleys, concerns have grown about a fusion-bonded epoxy coating that was applied to the pipes five or six years ago when work first started.
PHMSA says a weakened pipe could be vulnerable to landslides or earth movement in the rugged mountain terrain and karst topography though which the pipeline passes.
Conditions may exist that “pose a pipeline integrity risk to public safety, property or the environment,” the agency wrote in its proposed order, which mentioned explosions of other pipelines in similar landscapes.
Tuesday’s consent order authorizes KTA-Tator to conduct field audits of Mountain Valley’s inspections and remediation of sections of pipe that have yet to be installed as well as those buried since July 1, when construction resumed after a nearly two-year pause.
Mountain Valley, which says it has been doing “rigorous inspections” of the pipe throughout construction, welcomed the additional oversight ordered by PHMSA.
“Safety has been, and will remain, MVP’s top priority,” Diana Charletta, Equitrans’ president and chief operating officer, said in a news release Tuesday.
The company says more than 270 miles of pipe along the project’s 303-mile path through West Virginia and Southwest Virginia have already been buried, and that the coating met specifications at the time.
The remaining pipe is inspected and, where necessary, scrubbed and sandblasted before an additional layer of coating is added. The company has declined to say how many times that has happened.
Construction has resumed full-bore as Mountain Valley works to have the pipeline completed by the end of the year.
Laurence Hammack (540) 981-3239
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