Mountain Valley Pipeline developer submits application for Southgate pipeline to NC DEQ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2025

CONTACT
Andy Li, andy.li@sierraclub.org
Molly Moore, molly@appvoices.org 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality posted Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC’s Clean Water Act Section 401 application for its proposed methane gas pipeline “Southgate.” The developers recently altered their plans for Southgate, changing the route and increasing the capacity and pipe diameter. Southgate would extend the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, and has faced significant opposition since the original project was first proposed in 2018.

During its original permit review in 2020, DEQ determined MVP Southgate was an unneeded risk, and denied the developer’s application for a Clean Water Act permit. The Southgate pipeline would extend from Pittsylvania County, Virginia, into Rockingham County, North Carolina. It is currently subject to an amendment review process by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the recently requested changes to the project. The FERC recently opened a “Notice of Scoping,” soliciting new feedback from the public on the pipeline’s impacts.

Especially concerning for North Carolina communities is Southgate’s project route, which is very similar to the proposed Southeast Supply Enhancement Project from Williams Companies’ expansion of their network of Transco pipelines. The co-location of two additional high-pressure, large diameter pipelines, next to already aging pipes, adds to safety risks for both proposed pipelines.

The application process for Southgate from DEQ will include a public comment period and closes on July 5, 2025.

“MVP Southgate is and has been a bad idea. Residents have stood united in opposition to Southgate, fighting against its potential damage to our environment, our health and our communities,” said Caroline Hansley, Campaign Organizing Strategist at Sierra Club. “We cannot sacrifice our neighbors for the sake of lining the pockets of corporate executives.”

“MVP Southgate is a dangerous project that would threaten the safety, waterways and land usage opportunities of communities nearby,” said Juhi Modi, North Carolina Field Coordinator at Appalachian Voices. “Southgate would fuel Duke Energy’s massive proposed expansion of methane gas power plants across our state, causing higher electric bills and putting us on the highway to climate destruction. We know that there are safer, more affordable renewable energy options that can serve North Carolinians.”

“For years MVP Southgate — a proposed extension of MVP mainline—has never moved forward and has been denied multiple permits,” said Dr. Crystal Cavalier Keck, Co-Founder and CEO at 7 Directions of Service. “Community members along the MVP mainline route repeatedly tell us how their lives, their land and their waterways continue to suffer as a result of these pipeline developers, their violations and the lack of accountability. Our regulators must do everything in their power to protect North Carolinians from a similar fate.”

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About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person’s right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.

About Appalachian Voices
Appalachian Voices is a leading nonprofit advocate for a healthy environment and just economy in the Appalachian region, and a driving force in America’s shift from fossil fuels to a clean energy future. appvoices.org

About 7 Directions of Service

7 Directions of Service (7DS) is an Indigenous-led collective rooted in environmental justice and community organizing, operating on the ancestral homelands of the Occaneechi-Saponi in rural North Carolina. Our mission is to protect Sacred Places, advocate for the legal recognition of Rights of Nature, and establish a land, language, and cultural center grounded in traditional Yesah teachings. For more information, visit www.7directionsofservice.com