Federal court dismisses challenge to Mountain Valley Pipeline construction
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Friday granted a motion to dismiss a challenge to construction permits for a controversial natural gas pipeline in Virginia and West Virginia after Congress mandated that the project move forward.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, sided with lawyers from Mountain Valley Pipeline in dismissing challenges to the project by environmental groups over concerns about the pipeline’s impact on endangered species, erosion and stream sedimentation.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month allowed construction to resume. Work had been blocked by the 4th Circuit, even after Congress ordered the project’s approval as part of the bipartisan bill to increase the debt ceiling. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law in June.
Lawyers for the company building the 300-mile (500-kilometer) pipeline argued before the appeals court two weeks ago that Congress was within its rights to strip the 4th Circuit from jurisdiction over the case. They also said that any debate over the law’s constitutionality should be heard not by the 4th Circuit but by an appellate court in Washington, because the law passed by Congress spells out that precise scenario.
“Armed with this new legislation enacted specifically in their favor, Respondents — the federal agencies and the Mountain Valley Pipeline — moved in this Court for the dismissal of the petitions,” appeals judge James Wynn wrote. “Upon consideration of the matters before us, we must grant Respondents’ motions to dismiss.”
Environmental groups have opposed the $6.6 billion project, designed to meet growing energy demands in the South and Mid-Atlantic by transporting gas from the Marcellus and Utica fields in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Related News
From Archive
- Fatal Shawnee trench collapse linked to Oklahoma contractor’s repeated safety violations, OSHA reports
- Tunnel boring machine ‘Clack-A-Mole’ nears one-third completion in Oregon outfall project
- Explosion in underground PG&E vault leaves one dead in Richmond, Calif.
- Tennessee pipeline gets initial FERC approval despite environmental concerns
- Sinkhole in Texas town accrues over $800,000 in sewer rehabilitation costs
- Wisconsin proposes new PFAS drinking water standards to align with federal rules
- Elgin, Ill., joins EPA drinking water initiative to accelerate lead pipe replacement
- GasTracker Accurately Locates Plastic Gas Pipes
- Florence, S.C., to fund $537 million sewer, water upgrade with bonds and 5% rate hike
- Union County, Ga., breaks ground on $20.5 million fiber broadband expansion project
Comments