Mountain Valley Pipeline Settles With Protester It Sued

The Mountain Valley Pipeline has reached a settlement with a protester it sued.

Jerome James Wagner agreed to stay off the pipeline’s property and not interfere with its operations, in a settlement signed Thursday by U.S. District Judge Thomas Kleeh.

Mountain Valley Pipeline took Wagner to court last year, first in Webster County, then in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, alleging trespass and seeking damages.

MVP alleged that Wagner engaged in “unlawful protest” at a pipeline worksite in November 2023.

The nearly $10 billion, 303-mile gas pipeline began operating a year ago after years of construction delays and court challenges.

In a separate federal lawsuit in the Southern District of West Virginia, a former welding inspector on the project alleges he was fired after reporting safety violations to federal regulators.