Supreme Court says Mountain Valley Pipeline construction can resume; high court ruling is 'final say’

WASHINGTON (WV News) — Sen. Shelley Moore Capito is praising the U.S. Supreme Court’s Thursday decision to lift the stays that have halted the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a project that she believes will be a huge boon to West Virginia.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth District — located in Richmond, Virginia — released rulings to stop the project, which is set to transport natural gas roughly 300 miles from West Virginia to Virginia, despite the court no longer having jurisdiction over the pipeline.

However, the Supreme Court lifted that order on Thursday, which Capito said was a cause for celebration.

“I’m elated about this,” Capito said during a press call on Thursday. “It’s exciting to see that that last 5% of the pipeline will be built, as well as (see) the thousands of jobs that will come along with it. That’s always good news. ... (The pipeline) has all its permits. They’ve done the environmental review. It’s time for the court to get out of the way, and that’s what the Supreme Court said. ...”

“Hopefully, we’ll have completion of that pipeline by the end of the year, and then it will have great impacts, I think, in the Northern Panhandle and North Central West Virginia where the Marcellus Shale is. I’m very excited about short-term construction jobs and the longer-term jobs that are going to come along with this.

“The way our country is constructed, the Supreme Court is really the final say in any disputes between the executive, legislative or judicial,” Capito said. “I think this pretty much wraps it up. ... It’s time to admit the fact (that it’s over) at the Fourth Circuit. It’s over. Congress has spoken. ...

“I think (the Supreme Court) intentionally has made the decision on the day the Fourth Circuit was insisting on hearing the pros and cons on the stay. To me, that shows a definitive voice that says, ‘It’s time to wrap it.’ ... I think they chose the day intentionally.”

Also during Thursday’s press call, Capito spoke about what she would like to see completed in the coming weeks and months, especially ahead of the 2024 election cycle.

“One of the things we must get done is appropriations,” Capito said. “We know we will be working on that. Hopefully, we’ll do this by the end of September, which is the end of the fiscal year. There is a thought that we’ll have continuing resolutions that would take us through to the end of the year. ...

“Where we have common ground, we should be able to put these bills all the way across the floor and at least negotiate with the House. That is a major concern. ... Yes, next year will be very political with it being a presidential year, but we still have some must-do tasks, and appropriations is one of them.”