(Reuters) – The Biden administration has approved a permit to allow the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline to run through the Jefferson National Forest straddling Virginia and West Virginia, Senator Joe Manchin said on Tuesday.
Manchin, a conservative Democrat of West Virgina, has introduced a bill to speed fossil fuel and renewable energy projects that calls on the administration to approve Equitrans Midstream Corp’s $6.6 billion Mountain Valley pipeline.
The Biden administration has supported Manchin’s bill as it would help renewable energy companies reap the benefit of billions of dollars of tax credits contained in last year’s Inflation Reduction Act.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline has been opposed by environmental activists, but won the backing of Biden administration officials, including Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.
“While I’m pleased with the announcement from the Forest Service, the job isn’t done yet, and I will keep pushing the administration and all involved to finally complete the last 20 miles of this vital pipeline,” Manchin said in a statement.
The White House referred questions to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Forest Service is part of USDA.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner, Katherine Jackson, Dan Whitcomb and Valerie Volcovici; editing by Paul Grant and Leslie Adler)
