Vera Neinast Quoted in The Roanoke Times on New Obstacles for Mountain Valley Pipeline

The Roanoke Times has quoted Vera Neinast, senior counsel in the energy regulation, markets and enforcement practice at Akin Gump, in the article “Regulatory route becomes more complicated for Mountain Valley Pipeline.” The article looks at the impact that recent decisions by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), as well as the appointment of Richard Glick as its chairman, might have on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, located in Virginia and West Virginia.

According to the article, Glick has been critical of the pipeline in the past. In addition, the article says, the project faces several legal challenges, including one on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit asking it to reverse a decision by the Bureau of Land Management that granted a right of way for the pipeline to cross through the Jefferson National Forest.

With a new Biden appointment and more changes on the way, pipeline developers may be facing some difficult choices, according to Neinast, a former FERC lawyer who now focuses on oil and natural gas regulation.

“At the end of the day,” Neinast said, a pipeline has to decide, “if your project is going to cost more than you thought it would, and you’re not going to be able to collect the revenue from shippers that you thought you could, then the pipeline has to make the decision as to whether it’s economical to continue forward.”