Capito: Congress ‘loud and clear’ on Mountain Valley Pipeline

CHARLESTON — With the dispute over the Mountain Valley Pipeline likely on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito accused the federal court holding back the project of being “politicized.”

Capito, R-W.Va., spoke with reporters Thursday in a virtual briefing from her offices at the U.S. Capitol.

A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals based in Richmond, Va., issued two rulings earlier this week that once again halted resumption of construction of the 304-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline that began in Wetzel County and will end in Pittsylvania County, Va.

“I am seriously, totally astounded that this politicized court … would come in when Congress has spoken. We spoke loud and clear,” Capito said. “They should be moving ahead with hiring the thousands of West Virginians that are going to come complete this. And also with the growth of our natural gas industry in the Marcellus Shale should, it should be taking off. But instead, here we are again in judicial ping pong. This activist court has got to be stopped.”

The pipeline has been the subject of multiple court cases, stays, and injunctions since its inception. But a debt ceiling deal passed by Congress in June included language ordering all outstanding permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline to be granted and for legal jurisdiction from the pipeline moved from the Fourth Circuit to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The most recent court cases, brought by several environmental groups, challenged the constitutionality of the permitting reform language in the debt ceiling agreement and whether Congress violated the separation of powers between the legislative and judicial branches by moving jurisdiction for the pipeline project to a different federal circuit.

“Congress’s unprecedented end run around the courts attempted to forgo proper checks and balances and declare the sinking ship that is the MVP a winner. This, as we know, was wrong from the start,” said Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club. “Congress cannot mandate that federal regulators throw caution to the wind — environmental laws are more than just mere suggestions, and must be adhered to. We expect MVP to halt all construction along the entire route.”

Both Capito and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., believe the lower court overstepped its authority by ignoring Congress. Manchin released a statement earlier this week.

“The Fourth Circuit has shown more than a few times, particularly in this process, that they’re working an agenda here,” Capito said. “You’re supposed to have a system where you have random judges out of 15 judges. Every time Mountain Valley Pipeline comes before that court, they have the same three judges who issue the same three decisions, which is stay. They’re obviously opposed to this, and they’re working a political agenda.”

“The law passed by Congress and signed by the President is clear — the 4th Circuit no longer has jurisdiction over Mountain Valley Pipeline’s construction permits,” Manchin said. “This new order halting construction is unlawful, and regardless of your position on the Mountain Valley Pipeline, it should alarm every American when a court ignores the law.”

Equitrans Midstream Corporation, one of several natural gas companies involved with the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, released a statement Tuesday saying all legal options were being considered, including an emergency stay of the Fourth Circuit’s decisions.

“The Court’s decision defies the will and clear intent of a bipartisan Congress and this Administration in passing legislation to expedite completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, which was deemed to be in the national interest, the statement read. “We believe the Court also exceeded its authority, as Congress expressly and plainly removed its jurisdiction.

“Further, the fact that the Court issued the stay prior to receiving full briefing from the federal government and Mountain Valley is particularly telling and demonstrates why Congressional intervention was appropriate,” the statement continued.

“I think that this was gone over with a fine-tooth comb with all the constitutional lawyers here,” Capito said. “It was signed by the President of the United States and I’m sure gone over by his constitutional lawyers as well. I think we will see a challenge of the stay in the Supreme Court, although I don’t think that’s been issued yet, and I think it will be successful.”

Capito said the latest stay of the Mountain Valley Pipeline will likely not discourage the pipeline’s owners from pushing forward. With nearly 4,000 jobs possibly at stake to complete the remaining 5% of the pipeline through the Jefferson National Forest, Capito said she hopes the Supreme Court will expedite the case.

“I would say that it’s a sad day for those families because now they’re back in limbo land,” Capito said “Hopefully, we can resolve this quickly. As I said, astounded is a good way to frame it. I am astounded that this court would be such an activist court for such a political agenda.”