Federal court sides with Biden administration, clearing way for controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline

A Richmond, Va., appeals court on Friday sided with the Biden administration and a pipeline operator, giving the OK for construction of a natural gas pipeline set to run through parts of Virginia and West Virginia.

In the Friday ruling, a three-court panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which argued that the bipartisan bill to raise the federal debt ceiling earlier this year had stripped the court of its jurisdiction in the case. In addition to raising the debt ceiling, the bill included language for blanket approval of the pipeline and transferring jurisdiction to a D.C. court.

The unanimous ruling follows an earlier court battle in which the Fourth Circuit imposed a stay on a segment of the pipeline despite the language in the bill. The pipeline operator asked the Supreme Court to intercede in its favor, with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), the Biden administration and a coalition of Republican House members filing amicus briefs in support of the company. The Supreme Court granted the emergency request in late July.

The Fourth Circuit’s ruling marks a defeat for conservation groups such as the Wilderness Society, which had argued in court that the pipeline threatens the Jefferson National Forest, through which the segment at issue would pass.

Others such as Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) have said they do not necessarily oppose the pipeline specifically but that such projects should not be approved through legislation. 

“We are deeply saddened and concerned that Mountain Valley has been granted the ability to sidestep critical conservation protections and silence the voices of community members in harm’s way,” Jamie Williams, president of the Wilderness Society, said in a statement. "This pipeline will scar the integrity of Jefferson National Forest, compromise our water, increase harmful sedimentation, and expose communities in its path to the potential for explosive gas leaks and other harmful impacts.”