Federal court in Virginia rules in favor of Mountain Valley Pipeline
Jenny Goldsberry
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The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Biden administration and a pipeline company Friday.
A three-judge panel unanimously approved the construction of an over 300-mile-long natural gas pipeline, known as the Mountain Valley Pipeline, set to run through parts of Virginia and West Virginia. It has a capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day and is already over 94% completed. It has been on pause due to ongoing litigation.
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Mountain Valley argued that Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) bipartisan bill to raise the federal debt ceiling earlier this year took away the court’s jurisdiction in the case, to which the panel agreed. According to the law, a Washington, D.C. court has true jurisdiction, even though the pipeline does not cross into the capital’s territory.
The pipeline has received criticism from Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and conservation groups, including the Sierra Club.
“Construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline across the slopes and streams of Appalachia will threaten communities and harm imperiled species,” Sierra Club’s Southeast communications director Carolyn Morrison wrote in a statement. “Yet, apparently MVP has been given a free pass to edge out vulnerable species and steamroll communities.”
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This comes less than a month after the Supreme Court vacated judicial stays that prevented developers from completing the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Previously, the Fourth Circuit Court had issued two stays against the project.
Manchin’s language in the debt ceiling bill, signed by President Joe Biden in June, is expected to protect Mountain Valley from further legal challenges.