 The companies developing the Mountain Valley Southgate natural gas pipeline expansion from Virginia to North Carolina said on Wednesday they continue to target a 2021 startup for the project after North Carolina regulators denied a water permit. The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality DEQ denied the permit on Tuesday due to uncertainty around whether Equitrans Midstream Corp will ever complete the 5.4 bllion-5.7 billion Mountain Valley Pipeline MVP from West Virginia to Virginia. 