Nine lawmakers filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday in an attempt to restart construction on the long-delayed Mountain Valley Pipeline project.

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, R-W.Va., and U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., announced Wednesday they were joining six other members of Congress in filing an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the Mountain Valley Pipeline’s completion and against attempts by environmentalists to block its construction.

The lawmakers are seeking to vacate the latest stay issued against the pipeline by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. The court issued the stay earlier this month despite bipartisan legislation passed by Congress, and signed into law by President Joe Biden, that ratified and approved all necessary permits for the Mountain Valley Pipeline in order for construction to resume. The law also stripped the 4th Circuit from jurisdiction over the case. But the court still issued a stay — despite the new law — with environmentalists arguing that Congress overstepped its boundaries.

Capito, Miller and Mooney were joined by U.S. Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio, U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-Pa., U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa. and U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, R-Pa. in the amicus brief filing.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, also a Republican, announced Wednesday that he too will be filing an amicus brief in the case to restart the Mountain Valley Pipeline construction.

“Absolutely when it comes to natural gas of all things, we ought to be promoting it,” Justice said during his weekly administrative briefing Wednesday. “We have an abundance (of natural gas) beyond belief, and we should absolutely be running with that ball. It is absolutely beyond belief to have our pipeline shut down.”

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., also filed an amicus brief in the case with the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday.

Capito, ranking member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, said the Republican lawmakers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to allow for resumption of construction on the pipeline, which extends through both West Virginia and Virginia.

“By filing this amicus brief, my colleagues and I are speaking directly to the Supreme Court, urging them to uphold the clear intent of the language we included in the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden,” Capito said. “Unfortunately, activist judges on the Fourth Circuit and radical environmental groups will stop at nothing to delay the Mountain Valley Pipeline, and it’s necessary to once again fight for the completion of this critical, job-creating energy project.”

“Because of the bipartisan Fiscal Responsibility Act, the Mountain Valley Pipeline will be completed. The Fourth Circuit no longer has any jurisdiction over the Mountain Valley Pipeline and Republicans are fighting back,” Miller added. “While it is unfortunate that this amicus brief and case are necessary, I look forward to the Supreme Court coming to a swift decision confirming Congress’ intent to increase domestic energy production, particularly in West Virginia. I continue to encourage the parties involved with construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline to ignore the fourth circuit and complete production as scheduled.”

“Liberal activist lawsuits and bureaucratic red tape have long held up the Mountain Valley Pipeline, despite the project already clearing several agency permitting hurdles,” Mooney said. “Congress was clear when it said that judicial review of the Mountain Valley Pipeline was over. This pipeline is as much about West Virginia jobs as it is about American energy independence. The Supreme Court should recognize that Congress already resolved this matter.”

The 303-mile, 42-inch diameter pipeline that will carry natural gas from north central West Virginia to Chatham, Va., was slated to be finished by late 2018 at a cost of about $3.2 billion. But protests and federal permitting court cases have delayed the project and increased its cost to about $6.5 billion.

One unfinished section of the project is a 3.5-mile stretch through the Jefferson National Forest across Peters Mountain in Monroe County into Giles County.