US appeals court rejects challenge to Mountain Valley pipeline

Equitrans Midstream

11/08/2023 22:01

By Clark Mindock
       Aug 11 (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday
rejected a challenge to federal approvals for the Mountain
Valley Pipeline, in a decision that likely ends legal fights
over the construction of the $6.6 billion natural gas project
led by Equitrans Midstream  ETRN.N .   
    A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in Richmond, Virginia, said, “There is no longer a live
controversy” to consider after Congress in May passed a law
expressly ratifying approvals for the 303-mile (488-km) pipeline
running through West Virginia and Virginia.
    The U.S. Supreme Court in late July lifted orders the 4th
Circuit issued earlier in the month temporarily blocking
construction on a final 3.5-mile (5.6-km) segment of the
pipeline through the Jefferson National Forest.
    “I think this is the end of the potential legal challenges,
really, when it comes down to it,” said attorney Jared Margolis
of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of several groups
challenging the project in court.
    A representative for the developer said it is "committed to
finalizing" work on the project by the end of 2023. 
    The U.S. Interior Department declined to comment.
    Mountain Valley is owned by units of Equitrans Midstream,
the lead partner building the pipeline, as well as NextEra
Energy  NEE.N , Consolidated Edison  ED.N , AltaGas  ALA.TO  and
RGC Resources RGCO.O  among others.
    The pipeline was initially projected to be finished by late
2018 but was delayed by opposition from groups that claimed it 
would cause environmental damage and increase the use of climate
change-causing natural gas.
    Proponents of the pipeline claim it is key to unlocking more
gas from Appalachia, the biggest shale gas-producing basin in
the United States. 
    Approval for the pipeline was included in the debt limit
deal struck in May between Democrats and Republicans in
Congress.

 (Reporting by Clark Mindock; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and
Cynthia Osterman)
 ((Clark.Mindock@thomsonreuters.com;))