(USNewsMag.com) – On July 27, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that allows construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline to move forward.
The Supreme Court ruling grants an emergency request by the project’s backers to lift an order from a lower court that froze construction of the project. The emergency application to the Supreme Court had the support of a bipartisan group of lawmakers, which included West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin. No reasoning or dissents were noted in the brief order for the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The pipeline, which is 300 miles long, crosses waterways as well as federal national forest lands as it transports gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale areas in West Virginia to Virginia. Even though the project went through a rigorous environmental permitting process before being approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017, multiple lawsuits from environmental groups resulted.
Citing environmental violations, the Virginia-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has tossed the project’s permits repeatedly.
However, the Fiscal Responsibility Act, also known as Section 324, which was included as part of the debt ceiling negotiations signed into law June 3 by President Joe Biden, mandates the pipeline’s completion. Championed by Manchin, Section 324 also strips the jurisdiction of courts to hear challenges of federal approvals for the project.
Environmental groups argued that in passing the law Congress had exceeded its authority. An appeals court froze construction of the project on July 10, and agreed to expedite the case. The case was scheduled to be heard July 26 however, the ruling from the Supreme Court came down while the case was being heard.
The Biden administration, as well as Congress, support the project moving forward, with both Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm as well as White House senior adviser John Podesta voicing their support of the pipeline’s approval.
One of the last sections of the project to be completed is a 3.5-mile stretch through the Jefferson National Forest. With construction resuming, the pipeline is expected to be operational before the end of 2023.
Copyright 2023, USNewsMag.com
