In a split decision, FERC on Thursday authorized Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP) to resume construction activities within a 25-mile exclusion zone near the Jefferson National Forest.

The order, part of the agenda for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s monthly meeting Thursday, allows for some construction between mileposts 196.0 and 221.0 of the pipeline, where work had been on hold following a 2018 court ruling vacating federal authorization for MVP’s 3.5-mile crossing of national forest lands.

Earlier this year, MVP asked FERC to reduce the size of the exclusion zone and allow for additional construction activities to resume, providing supporting information indicating that portions of the route could be reopened without impacting the national...