Supreme Court Allows Work on Mountain Valley Pipeline to Resume
Opponents had sought to block completion of long-stalled project The Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia, has generated controversy since it first was proposed almost a decade ago. Photo: Stephanie Klein-Davis for The Wall Street Journal By David Harrison July 27, 2023 12:16 pm ET WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that work can continue on the long-stalled Mountain Valley Pipeline, overturning a lower-court ruling and potentially moving the project closer to completion. Earlier this month, at the request of environmental groups, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted work on the project while it sorted out whether it could still rule on challenges to the project. A provision in the bipartisan debt-ceiling bill signed into law last month s
The Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia, has generated controversy since it first was proposed almost a decade ago.
Photo: Stephanie Klein-Davis for The Wall Street Journal
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday that work can continue on the long-stalled Mountain Valley Pipeline, overturning a lower-court ruling and potentially moving the project closer to completion.
Earlier this month, at the request of environmental groups, the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted work on the project while it sorted out whether it could still rule on challenges to the project.
A provision in the bipartisan debt-ceiling bill signed into law last month stripped the lower court of its jurisdiction over the natural-gas pipeline and mandated that it be completed. The provision fulfilled a longstanding goal of Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.).
Following the bill’s enactment, the company behind the pipeline, Equitrans Midstream, asked the Fourth Circuit to dismiss two pending lawsuits against the pipeline.
The environmental groups behind the suits argued that stopping legal challenges before the Fourth Circuit violated the separation of powers clause of the Constitution, in effect giving Congress the power to decide the outcome of judicial proceedings.
The Fourth Circuit agreed to pause the project while it sorted out the effect of the debt- ceiling law, prompting Equitrans Midstream to appeal to the Supreme Court.
As is typical in emergency orders, the Supreme Court didn’t explain its ruling. There were no noted dissents.
The court’s ruling didn’t dismiss the legal challenges to the pipeline entirely, allowing project opponents to continue making their case before the Fourth Circuit. The Fourth Circuit was scheduled to hold a hearing on the topic Thursday.
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 303-mile pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia, has aroused controversy ever since it first was proposed almost a decade ago. Opponents, including adjacent landowners and environmental groups, have challenged the project’s environmental permits, delaying the project for years.
Last year, the Biden administration struck a deal with Manchin in which Manchin would agree to provide the pivotal vote for the administration’s sweeping climate bill. In exchange, the White House and Senate Democratic leaders would support Manchin’s efforts to get the pipeline finished.
“The Supreme Court has spoken and this decision to let construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline move forward again is the correct one,” Manchin tweeted in response to the ruling. “I am relieved that the highest court in the land has upheld the law Congress passed the president signed.”
Write to David Harrison at [email protected]
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