Operations of the hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline can begin, regulators say

By JOHN RABY
Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline has been given the go-ahead to start operating. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval Tuesday comes six years after construction began on the Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia. Environmental groups, landowners and some elected officials have long opposed the project. The $7.85 billion pipeline was built at more than double its original estimated cost. It has withstood weather delays, a maze of court and construction permit challenges and regulator scrutiny. It is designed to meet growing energy demands in the South and mid-Atlantic by transporting gas from the Marcellus and Utica fields in Pennsylvania and Ohio.