And for the second time in a week, the Biden administration has backed the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline, a project endorsed by a prominent Democratic senator to speed up the granting of permits for fossil fuels and energy transmission projects.
The $6.6 billion Equitrans Midstream Corp pipeline is opposed by environmentalists, but has the support of officials in the Biden administration, including Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm. She said the United States should focus on energy security and the transition to renewable energy.
“Today the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a decision record regarding the Mountain Valley pipeline,” the agency, which is part of the Department of the Interior, said in a statement. “BLM is moving to the next step, which is to process the project’s revised right-of-way request.”
Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, has introduced a bill to accelerate fossil fuel projects and transmission lines to move energy from renewable projects. His bill calls for the Biden administration to approve the pipeline that would run through his state. The Manchine legislation is one of several licensing proposals in Congress.
The pipeline, which would unlock gas resources from Appalachia, the nation’s largest shale gas basin, is still under review and approval, including from West Virginia.
BLM’s move was “the next step in the process of finally completing this critical piece of energy infrastructure that will advance our energy and national security, strengthen West Virginia’s economy and benefit the entire nation,” Manchin said. Cubic feet of natural gas each day will power homes and businesses.”
The US Forest Service on Tuesday issued a permit to lay the pipeline through Jefferson National Forest, between Virginia and West Virginia.
