CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A ruling this week by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of appeals dealt another blow to efforts to finish the Mountain Valley Pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia.
The appellate court, seated in Richmond, Va. sided with environmental groups who claimed the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection hadn’t done enough to protect West Virginia streams from sediment and muddy runoff in the path of the pipeline’s construction. The court vacated a Section 401 water quality certification permit issued by the West Virginia DEP. The section 401 permit is required before federal agencies can issue construction permits on the pipeline.
The suit was filed behalf of the Sierra Club, Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, West Virginia Rivers Coalition, West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and Indian Creek Watershed Association. Attorneys representing the plaintiffs claimed there has been a high incidence of muddy runoff into waterways along the pipeline’s construction path so far. They cited as evidence of their claims $550,000 in fines leveled against Mountain Valley Pipeline over citations for runoff, sedimentation in waterways, and a failure to control erosion.
“This decision highlights important shortcomings in the WV DEP’s 401 Certification review process with regard to protecting small but valuable headwater streams of West Virginia” said Cindy Rank of the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy in a press release announcing the ruling. “A more complete and accurate evaluation would no doubt lead to the final demise of the shortsighted pipeline.”
“We applaud the court’s decision to protect our water from this disastrous project,” Sierra Club Dirty Fuels Campaign Director Patrick Grenter said. “After countless violations of environmental safeguards and clean water protections, we know that MVP can’t be trusted to comply with the most basic standards of reasonable conduct. This project is already more than three years behind schedule, and billions over budget. With continuous legal setbacks, it has never been more clear that investors should stop throwing money at this doomed project and walk away.”
“We appreciate the common sense reflected in the court’s decision,” said Angie Rosser, executive director of West Virginia Rivers Coalition. “MVP has already gone too far in damaging West Virginia’s water resources, particularly in some of our most valuable mountain headwater systems. WVDEP clearly cannot make a good conscience argument that MVP will not further violate water quality standards.”
Pipeline developers put out the following statement in response to the court’s ruling:
Mountain Valley continues to review the Court’s decision, however, we are disappointed that MVP’s West Virginia 401 Water Quality Certification has once again been vacated. We appreciate the diligent efforts of the WVDEP and will continue to work with the agency on a path forward to completing this critical infrastructure project safely and responsibly. MVP has undergone unprecedented environmental review, and it is being built to higher environmental standards than any similar project that has ever been built in West Virginia or Virginia. With total project work nearly 94 percent complete, Mountain Valley continues to target a late 2023 in-service date and remains committed to working collaboratively with state and federal regulators to finish the remaining work and help ensure Americans have greater access to cleaner, reliable, and more affordable domestic energy.
The pipeline is more than 90 percent completed and leaders believe it is crucial to energy security for the nation.
Once again, a key natural gas pipeline project is needlessly being held up in court. This most recent roadblock of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is 94% complete, underscores the need for real reforms to our permitting and judicial review processes.https://t.co/vkUwt047wG
— Shelley Moore Capito (@SenCapito) April 4, 2023
“Once again, a key natural gas pipeline project is needlessly being held up in court. This most recent roadblock of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which is 94% complete, underscores the need for real reforms to our permitting and judicial review processes.” said U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito in a tweet reacting to the news.
U.S. Senator Joe Manchin had a similar reaction to the next hurdle in the pipelines development. He issued the following statement:
“It is infuriating to see the same 4th Circuit Court panel deal yet another setback for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project and once again side with activists who seem hell-bent on killing any fossil energy that will make our country energy independent and secure. This pipeline is more than 90% constructed with 283 miles already laid, and once through the red tape can bring an additional 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas onto the market within months. This project has been through three rounds of water quality permitting but activist groups continue to litigate the last 20 miles, standing in the way of restoring land to its natural beauty, getting more product to market to bolster our energy security and bring down prices, and allowing West Virginians to benefit from the natural resources they own. As OPEC and Putin continue to manipulate energy to suit their agendas, the United States must step up to the plate to get more of our abundant natural resources – which are among the cleanest produced in the world – to market, both for our own energy security and that of our friends and allies around the world.”
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection could offer no comment on the ruling due to pending litigation.
The next step for the development of the pipeline is not clear.