One month after it approved the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline, a federal agency is being asked to think twice by a chorus of critics.
Some 22 petitioners — including landowners whose property the pipeline would dissect, counties it would cross and conservation groups who say it would leave a trail of environmental damage — filed documents Monday asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to order a rehearing of its Oct. 13 decision.
The requests outline a variety of grounds on which opponents argue that FERC erred when it granted a certificate allowing a 42-inch diameter, 303-mile buried pipeline that would channel natural gas at high pressure through the two Virginias.
While some opponents concede that FERC is unlikely to reverse itself, the petitions are a necessary step toward a possible legal challenge that would seek a delay in construction.
