“The application to vacate stays presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted,” the short order states. There were no n
“The application to vacate stays presented to The Chief Justice and by him referred to the Court is granted,” the short order states. There were no noted dissents to the order.
Background: The ruling was in response to a request from Equitrans Midstream, the company developing the Mountain Valley project, to overturn an appeals court orders earlier this month to stop building in the Jefferson National Forest while that court considered environmental groups’ legal complaints against the project. The 3.5-mile stretch is one of the last sections of the pipeline remaining to be built.
Legal challenges to the pipeline continue even after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and other lawmakers wrote language into the debt ceiling bill, H.R. 3746 (118), passed last month that sought to green-light the project, a planned 300-mile conduit to move natural gas from Manchin’s home state to markets further east and south.
“The Supreme Court has spoken and this decision to let construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline move forward again is the correct one,” Manchin said in a statement. “I am relieved that the highest court in the land has upheld the law Congress passed and the President signed.”
The Supreme Court’s order was handed down while the 4th Circuit was holding its hearing on the developer’s motion to reverse the stays. The pipeline developer says that if it does not resume construction soon, it will be unable to complete before winter weather arrives in November and halts work until the spring.
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