Justice: Congress Was ‘Clear And Emphatic’ About Mountain Valley Pipeline

Gov. Jim Justice has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to allow construction to resume on the Mountain Valley Pipeline.

“Clear and emphatic.” That’s what Justice says Congress said about the 300-mile natural gas pipeline when it required by law last month the approval of all remaining federal permits.

Still, construction stopped on the project when the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with environmental groups and landowners challenging it.

Justice and others say Congress took the project out of the Fourth Circuit’s jurisdiction.

If completed, the pipeline would run from Wetzel County to Pittsylvania County, Virginia. A proposed extension to North Carolina is also on hold.

U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin, Reps. Carol Miller and Alex Mooney, and Attorney General Patrick Morrisey have all submitted briefs to the Supreme Court in support of the pipeline’s completion.