In a Thursday morning ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a lower court decision that prevented a 303-mile natural gas pipeline from being completed in West Virginia. In the previous decision, the US 4th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with environmentalist groups, granting a stay on the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline despite bipartisan objections from Congress and the Biden administration.
The Court’s unsigned, one-page provisional order overruled the 4th Circuit’s order, allowing the $6 billion building project to continue while the case works its way through lower courts. “The application to vacate stays presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted,” the order said in part. The Justices provided no explanation for why they ruled in favor of the construction resuming, but this is not unusual for responses to emergency applications.
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Initial approval for the Mountain Valley Pipeline was granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2017, but the project has been slowed significantly by a series of legal challenges. A provision regarding the MVP championed by Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) was included in legislation passed last month to raise the debt ceiling. The provision blocked most legal objections to the construction, requiring that all challenges must be settled in Washington DC appeals courts—which the 4th Circuit’s ruling disregarded.
The Supreme Court’s decision came as a loss to the Wilderness Society and Appalachian Voices, the environmentalist groups arguing that the pipeline poses a threat to endangered species. While their objection has been overruled, the Court did not rule out hearing additional environmental lawsuits in the future.
With construction resuming, Equitrans Midstream Corp. will be able to finish the remaining three miles of pipeline cutting through Jefferson National Forest. Upon completion, the Mountain Valley Pipeline will transport an estimated two billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, providing heating and fuel across the Southern and Mid-Atlantic states ahead of the winter demand.
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