Supreme Court allows construction to resume on the Mountain Valley Pipeline

WASHINGTON (WDTV) - The U.S. Supreme Court has issued an order that allows construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline to continue.

The order, which was issued Thursday morning, vacates stays issued by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia that ordered for construction to be halted last week after environmentalists said the plan will cause erosion that will ruin soil and water quality.

Congress passed legislation last month ordering all necessary permits be issued for the pipeline, which crosses rugged mountainsides in Virginia and West Virginia. However, construction was ordered to be halted after environmentalists voiced their concerns.

After construction was halted, some of West Virginia’s top lawmakers filed amicus briefs asking for construction on the pipeline to be restarted, including Gov. Jim Justice, Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and Representatives Alex Mooney and Carol Miller.

Some of the state’s top lawmakers are responding after construction has been allowed to resume.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says its completion is critical to our national security, adding that it urgently needs to be completed.

I am pleased the Supreme Court recognized the importance of this project not only for West Virginia, but for the nation. The Mountain Valley Pipeline is vital to the survival of American energy independence and affects thousands of jobs in West Virginia—its completion is also critical to our national security, the urgent need is for it to be completed as soon as possible.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey

Senator Shelley Moore Capito says this is a major win for American energy and American jobs.

Senator Joe Manchin says the Supreme Court made the right decision and has upheld the law.

The pipeline’s operators say the project is already substantially complete and that only 3 acres of trees need to be cleared, compared to more than 4,400 acres that have been already cleared.

The pipeline is designed to meet the growing energy demands in the South and Mid-Atlantic by transporting gas from the Marcellus and Utica fields in Pennsylvania and Ohio.