Court stymies Manchin’s prized pipeline pickup from debt limit deal

A federal appeals court has laid down a roadblock to the completion of a natural gas pipeline long championed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).

The Richmond, Va.-based Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay Monday that paused construction of a portion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, meant to carry fuel from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia.

Congress fast-tracked completion of the controversial pipeline by ordering all necessary permits to be issued and removing the Fourth Circuit from jurisdiction over the matter in the compromise debt ceiling law enacted last month.

However, attorneys for environmentalists battling the pipeline’s construction in some regions contended that Congress overstepped its authority.

Due to the stay, a three-mile portion of the pipeline that runs through the Jefferson National Forest in the Appalachian Mountains is now on hold.

“The law passed by Congress & signed by POTUS is clear – the 4th Circuit no longer has jurisdiction over MVP’s construction permits. This new order halting construction is unlawful, & regardless of your position on MVP, it should alarm every American when a court ignores the law,” Manchin tweeted Monday night in response to the ruling.

Inclusion of the MVP provision in the debt limit deal drew fierce backlash from progressives, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who argued Congress shouldn’t intervene.

Congress included the fast-tracking of the pipeline as part of broader negotiations on permitting reform. Ultimately, the debt limit bill enacted some permitting reforms and deferred on others.

“This latest effort by the activist Fourth Circuit Court flies in the face of the law that was passed by a bipartisan Congress and signed by President Biden,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) tweeted.

The court did not include a rationale in its stay, which will likely remain in effect until a complete ruling on the case comes down.

Equitrans Midstream, an energy company involved in the pipeline construction venture, said it is weighing its options.

“We are evaluating all legal options, which include filing an emergency appeal to the US Supreme Court. Unless this decision is promptly reversed, it would jeopardize Mountain Valley’s ability to complete construction by year-end 2023,” the company said in a statement.