Operations of the hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline can begin, regulators say [Video]

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A hotly contested East Coast natural gas pipeline was given the go-ahead Tuesday to start operating, six years after construction began at more than double its original estimated cost.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the 303-mile (500-kilometer) Mountain Valley Pipeline project across rugged mountainsides in West Virginia and Virginia over longstanding objections from environmental groups, landowners and some elected officials. Project developers told regulators on Monday that the pipeline was complete.

“We are pleased with the agencies’ decisions and the related communications regarding in-service authorization for the MVP project,” Natalie Cox, a spokesperson for the pipeline’s leading developer, Equitrans Midstream Corp., said in a statement Tuesday night. “Final preparations are underway to begin commercial operations.”

The $7.85 billion project has withstood weather delays, a maze of court and construction permit challenges …