163 Ferc ¶ 61,197 United States of America Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
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163 FERC ¶ 61,197 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION Before Commissioners: Kevin J. McIntyre, Chairman; Cheryl A. LaFleur, Neil Chatterjee, Robert F. Powelson, and Richard Glick. Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC Docket Nos. CP16-10-001 Equitrans, L.P. CP16-13-001 ORDER ON REHEARING (Issued June 15, 2018) On October 13, 2017, the Commission issued an order under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA)1 and Parts 157, Subpart F and 284, Subpart G of the Commission’s regulations,2 authorizing Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (Mountain Valley) to construct and operate its proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline Project in West Virginia and Virginia (MVP Project).3 The Certificate Order also authorized Equitrans, L.P. (Equitrans) to construct and operate the system modifications necessary to enable Equitrans to provide transportation service from western Pennsylvania to an interconnect with the MVP Project in Wetzel County, West Virginia (Equitrans Expansion Project). On November 13, 2017, the following individuals and entities sought rehearing of the Certificate Order: (1) James T. Chandler; (2) Dr. Carl Zipper;4 (3) New River Conservancy, Inc. (New River Conservancy); (4) Blue Ridge Land Conservancy; (5) The Nature Conservancy; (6) Preserve Montgomery County, Virginia (Preserve Montgomery County); (7) Montgomery County, Virginia (Montgomery County); (8) Blue Ridge 1 15 U.S.C. § 717f(c) (2012). 2 18 C.F.R. pts. 157, 284 (2017). 3 Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC, 161 FERC ¶ 61,043 (2017) (Certificate Order). 4 Intervenors who join in Mr. Zipper’s request for rehearing are: Thomas T. and Susan A Bouldin; Delwyn A. Dyer; Joseph H. Fagan; Maury Johnson; Mr. and Mrs. Robert M. Jones; Zane R. Lawhorn; Clifford A. Shaffer; and Thomas E. and Bonnie Triplett. Docket Nos. CP16-10-001 and CP16-13-001 - 2 - Environmental Defense League; (9) Greater Newport Rural Historic District Committee (Historic District);5 (10) Appalachian Mountain Advocates;6 (11) Roanoke, Giles, and Craig Counties, Virginia (Counties); (12) Preserve Craig, Inc. (Preserve Craig);7 (13) Sierra Club; (14) Carolyn Reilly;8 (15) Preserve Giles County; and (16) Helena Teekell.9 On November 14, 2017, late requests for rehearing were filed by (1) Martin Morrison and (2) Preserve Bent Mountain. On November 15, 2017, Preserve Giles County filed a corrected copy of its earlier request for rehearing. On December 26, 2017, Charles Chong filed a late request for rehearing of the Certificate Order. On May 4, 2018, Ben Rhodd, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Steve Vance, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League jointly filed a late request for rehearing.10 5 The Historic District’s request for rehearing appears in this docket four times as Accession Nos. 20171113-5363, 20171113-5364, 20171113-5365, 20171113-5368. 6 Appalachian Mountain Advocates filed two requests for rehearing. The first (Accession No. 20171113-5366) was filed on behalf of Appalachian Voices; Center for Biological Diversity; Chesapeake Climate Action Network; Natural Resources Defense Council; Protect Our Water, Heritage and Rights; Sierra Club; West Virginia Rivers Coalition; Wild Virginia; Bold Alliance; Orus Ashby Berkley; Charles Chong; Rebecca Chong; Judy Hodges; Steven Hodges; Donald Jones; Gordon Jones; Elisabeth Tobey; Ronald Tobey; and Keith Wilson. Appalachian Mountain Advocates’ second request (Accession No. 21071113-5375) includes the Appalachian Trail Conservancy among the rehearing petitioners, but otherwise appears to be identical to its earlier filing. 7 Preserve Craig’s request for rehearing is joined by: Preserve Bent Mountain; Preserve Monroe; Save Monroe; Indian Creek Watershed Association; Summers County Residents Against the Pipeline; Protect our Water, Heritage and Rights; Preserve Giles County; Preserve Montgomery County; and the Historic District. 8 Ms. Reilly also filed on behalf of Four Corners Farm and other owners of that farm. 9 In addition, Equitrans sought clarification of the Certificate Order. The Commission addressed that request in an order issued on March 1, 2018. Equitrans, L.P., 162 FERC ¶ 61,191 (2018). 10 Mr. Rhodd and Mr. Vance also filed late motions to intervene on May 4, 2018. Docket Nos. CP16-10-001 and CP16-13-001 - 3 - All of the requests for rehearing, with the exception of that filed by Mr. Chong, also sought a stay of the Certificate Order. For the reasons discussed below, the requests for rehearing are rejected, dismissed, or denied and the requests for stay are dismissed as moot. I. Background The MVP Project is a new pipeline system designed to provide 2,000,000 dekatherms (Dth) per day of firm transportation service to markets in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions. The project includes a 303.5-mile-long, 42-inch-diameter greenfield natural gas pipeline running from Wetzel County, West Virginia to Transcontinental Pipe Line Company’s Compressor Station 165 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. The project also includes three compressor stations, interconnection facilities, metering and regulation facilities, and other appurtenant facilities. The Equitrans Expansion Project is designed to provide up to 600,000 Dth per day of firm transportation service from southern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia to a proposed interconnection with the MVP Project in West Virginia. The project consists of six new pipeline segments, totaling 7.87 miles, on Equitrans’ existing mainline system, a new compressor station, interconnection facilities, and other appurtenant facilities. Together, the MVP and Equitrans Expansion Projects are designed to serve the demand for natural gas in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast. In the Certificate Order, the Commission agreed with the conclusions presented in the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and adopted the EIS’s recommended mitigation measures as modified in the order. The Certificate Order determined that the MVP and Equitrans Expansion Projects, if constructed and operated as described in the Final EIS, are environmentally acceptable actions and required by the public convenience and necessity. II. Procedural Matters A. Party Status Under NGA section 19(a) and Rule 713(b) of the Commission’s Rules and Practice and Procedure, only a party to a proceeding has standing to request rehearing of a final Commission decision.11 Any person seeking to become a party must file a motion 11 15 U.S.C. § 717f(a) (2012); 18 C.F.R. § 385.713(b) (2017). Docket Nos. CP16-10-001 and CP16-13-001 - 4 - to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure.12 Mr. Bohon and Ms. Karen E. Chandler never sought to intervene in this proceeding and accordingly they may not join in the rehearing requests filed by Dr. Zipper and Mr. Chandler, respectively. On November 13, 2017, Jerry Deplazes, Jerolyn Deplazes, Karolyn Givens, Frances Collins, Michael Williams, Miller Williams, Tony Williams, Shannon Lucas, and Nathan Deplazes, property owners in the Greater Newport Rural Historic District in Giles County, Virginia (collectively, Movants), filed a late motion to intervene.13 Additionally, as noted above, on May 4, 2018, Ben Rhodd and Steve Vance, filed late motions to intervene. On May 17, 2018, Mountain Valley filed an answer in opposition to Mr. Rhodd’s and Mr. Vance’s late motions to intervene. The Commission has explained that “[w]hen late intervention is sought after the issuance of a dispositive order, the prejudice to other parties and burden upon the Commission of granting the late intervention may be substantial.”14 In such circumstances, movants bear a higher burden to demonstrate good cause for the granting of late intervention,15 and generally it is Commission policy to deny late intervention at the rehearing stage.16 Here, Movants cite their March 2016 request to become consulting parties under section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act17 (NHPA). In April 2016, Commission staff denied that request because the Movants did not prove that they had a direct legal or economic relationship with the project, as required under the Advisory 12 18 C.F.R. § 385.214(a)(3) (2017). 13 Motion of Jerry Deplazes, et al., filed Nov. 13, 2017. The Movants have joined in the rehearing request filed by the Historic District. The Deplazes have also joined in the Dr. Zipper’s request for rehearing. 14 National Fuel Gas Supply Corp., 139 FERC ¶ 61,037 (2012). See, e.g., Florida Gas Transmission Co., 133 FERC ¶ 61,156 (2010). 15 See California Department of Water Resources and the City of Los Angeles, 120 FERC ¶ 61,057, at n.3 (2007), reh’g denied, 120 FERC ¶ 61,248, aff’d sub nom. California Trout and Friends of the River v. FERC, 572 F.3d 1003 (9th Cir. 2009). 16 See Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, L.L.C., 162 FERC ¶ 61,013, at P 10 (2018). 17 54 U.S.C. § 306108 (previously codified at 16 U.S.C. § 470f). Docket Nos. CP16-10-001 and CP16-13-001 - 5 - Council on Historic Preservation’s (Advisory Council) Regulations.18 However, the Movants were encouraged to make use of the Commission’s existing processes to comment on the projects.19 In May 2017, after consultations with the Advisory Council, Commission staff reconsidered its position and granted the Movants’ request to be consulting parties.20 Movants do not explain why they did not intervene between April 2016 and May 2017. Instead, they point to a 2015 email exchange between a conservation group from another Virginia county and a Commission staff member, which incorrectly states that entities could not be both an intervenor and a consulting party.21 But again, this does not explain why the Movants’ did not seek to intervene when their request for consulting party status was initially denied. Moreover, Movants do not demonstrate any reliance on the 2015 email exchange with another party. We thus find that Movants have not met their burden and deny their request to intervene.