EQT Midstream Partners Responds to Fourth Circuit Court Order
23 June 2018 - 10:21AM
Business Wire
EQT Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: EQM) (Partnership) released
the following statement and background information in response to a
June 21, 2018 order by the Fourth Circuit Court staying the stream
and wetland crossing permit issued by the Huntington District of
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Mountain Valley Pipeline
(MVP) project that affects crossings in approximately 160 miles of
the MVP route in West Virginia.
"We remain confident in the MVP project approvals received by
state and federal agencies and will continue to move forward with
construction as scheduled and authorized for the full route across
Virginia and in other areas of the route in West Virginia. The
court’s decision to suspend the entire Huntington District’s permit
was not anticipated as the Corps had suspended the permit for the
four waterbody crossings in question to evaluate the environmental
benefits of the previously approved “dry-ditch” method and whether
the time limitation should apply. While we are disappointed with
this temporary setback, the MVP team is evaluating its legal and
regulatory options to reinstate the permit and continue with
construction activities along this portion of the route.”
On May 22, 2018, the Sierra Club and other opponents filed a
Motion to Stay the Clean Water Act Section 404 stream and wetland
crossing permit issued by the Huntington District of the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers. As part of this permit, the Corps incorporated
the West Virginia Special Conditions, which includes a provision
that stream and wetland crossings be completed within 72 hours.
The Sierra Club argues that MVP cannot comply with the permit
condition to complete four waterbody crossings (Elk, Gauley,
Greenbrier, and Meadow Rivers) within 72 hours. This provision;
however, as interpreted by both MVP and the West Virginia DEP, is
intended to apply to water crossings that are constructed in an
open trench while the river is flowing (“wet-cut” method). MVP
plans to utilize a "dry-ditch" coffer dam method to cross these
four rivers as this technique is more protective of the environment
because construction activity is not performed in a flowing river.
This crossing technique has been approved by both the FERC and the
West Virginia DEP. While significantly more environmentally
protective, the “dry-ditch” technique also requires a longer
completion time as compared to traditional "wet-cut" crossing
methods to which the time limitation provision applies. In response
to the Sierra Club’s motion, the Corps suspended the permit for
these four crossings and is evaluating the environmental benefits
of the “dry-ditch” method and whether the time limitation should
apply.
MVP continues to target a late 2018 in-service date while
evaluating options for this portion of the route.
About EQT Midstream
Partners:
EQT Midstream Partners, LP is a growth-oriented limited
partnership formed by EQT Corporation to own, operate, acquire, and
develop midstream assets in the Appalachian Basin. The Partnership
provides midstream services to EQT Corporation and third-party
companies through its strategically located transmission, storage,
and gathering systems that service the Marcellus, Utica and Upper
Devonian regions. The Partnership owns approximately 950 miles of
FERC-regulated interstate pipelines; and also owns approximately
1,950 miles of high- and low-pressure gathering lines.
Visit www.eqtmidstreampartners.com
About Mountain Valley
Pipeline
The Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) is a proposed underground,
interstate natural gas pipeline system that spans approximately 303
miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia. Subject
to approval and regulatory oversight by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, the MVP will be constructed and owned by
Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC – a joint venture of EQT Midstream
Partners, LP; NextEra US Gas Assets, LLC; Con Edison Transmission,
Inc.; WGL Midstream; and RGC Midstream, LLC. The MVP was designed
to transport clean-burning natural gas from the prolific Marcellus
and Utica shale regions to the growing demand markets in the
Mid-Atlantic and Southeast areas of the United States. Targeting a
full in-service of late 2018, EQT Midstream Partners, primary
interest owner, will operate the pipeline. From planning and
development, to construction and in-service operation – MVP is
dedicated to the safety of its communities, employees, and
contractors; and to the preservation and protection of the
environment.
Visit www.mountainvalleypipeline.info
Cautionary Statements
Disclosures in this news release contain certain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities
Act of 1933, as amended. Statements that do not relate strictly to
historical or current facts are forward-looking. Without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, forward-looking statements
contained in this news release specifically include the
expectations of plans, strategies, objectives and growth of the
Partnership and Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC (the MVP JV),
including the expected impact of the Fourth Circuit Court of
Appeals stay of the MVP JV’s Huntington District stream and wetland
crossing permit, the cost, timing of regulatory approvals and
anticipated in-service date of the MVP, and the Partnership’s
engineering, construction and operational changes to the MVP
project. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from projected
results. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on
forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. The
Partnership has based these forward-looking statements on current
expectations and assumptions about future events. While the
Partnership considers these expectations and assumptions to be
reasonable, they are inherently subject to significant business,
economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks and
uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and beyond
the Partnership's control. The risks and uncertainties that may
affect the operations, performance and results of the Partnership's
business and forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, those risks discussed in the Partnership's most recent
Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and
other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such
statement is made and the Partnership does not intend to correct or
update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180622005703/en/
EQT Midstream Partners, LPAnalyst inquiries please
contact:Nate Tetlow – Investor Relations
Director412.553.5834ntetlow@eqtmidstreampartners.comorPatrick Kane
– Chief Investor Relations
Officer412.553.7833pkane@eqtmidstreampartners.comorMedia
inquiries please contact:Natalie Cox – Corporate Director,
Communications412.395.3941ncox@eqtmidstreampartners.com
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