Striking another blow against Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP), a project beset by legal and regulatory challenges the last few years, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has denied a water quality permit for MVP’s Southgate extension.

Mountain Valley Pipeline Map

The DEQ on Tuesday denied MVP’s request for state certification under Clean Water Act Section 401, citing the Southgate project’s dependence on the still-unfinished MVP mainline.

The DEQ “has determined that the proposed MVP Southgate project is inextricably linked to, and dependent upon, the competition of the under-construction” MVP mainline, the DEQ’s S. Daniel Smith, director of the Division of Water Resources, wrote in a letter to the developers. “…Approving construction activities and thereby allowing...