Finish Mountain Valley Pipeline To Deter Russia, Manchin Says

U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin has called for the immediate completion of a stalled natural gas pipeline as an alternative to Russian energy.

Manchin said the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which stretches 300 miles across West Virginia and Virginia, can help European countries rely less on Russia for natural gas.

The pipeline is mostly complete but tied up in federal court. Environmental groups have successfully brought the project to a halt over concerns about impacts on waterways and endangered species.

But Manchin, who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the pipeline should be completed now.

“That one pipeline coming out of West Virginia will put 2 billion cubic feet of gas a day into the market,” he said. “That can be accomplished in eight months. They’re 95 percent completed.”

Manchin is leading a bipartisan group of lawmakers in an effort to ban Russian imports of oil, natural gas and coal.