- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approves EQT Midstream Partners' (EQM -0.3%) request to proceed with construction along various segments of its Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia.
- FERC also says it will allow the company to cross the Blue Ridge Parkway, which links the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee.
- Several environmental groups had petitioned FERC to review its October decision to approve the pipeline, saying regulators should have given more weight to ecological impacts and not base its assessments of pipeline need solely on contracts signed with gas consumers.
- The $3.5B project is owned by units of operator EQM, NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE), Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED), WGL Holdings (NYSE:WGL) and RGC Resources.