Manchin celebrates Supreme Court win on Mountain Valley Pipeline.
Sen. Joe Manchin Celebrates Resumption of Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) expressed his excitement on Friday as construction on the Mountain Valley Pipeline resumed. This comes after the Supreme Court lifted judicial stays that had previously halted the project’s progress.
The high court stated in a Thursday order that the stays issued by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals violated the text of the debt ceiling bill signed by President Joe Biden in June. This bill included language specifically protecting the Mountain Valley Pipeline from further legal challenges. Despite opposition from Sen. Tim Kaine (D), Manchin used his influence as a key swing vote in the Senate to ensure these protections were included in the must-pass legislation to avoid a debt default.
“I fought to ensure that language to complete the Mountain Valley Pipeline was included in the Fiscal Responsibility Act in June,” Manchin proudly declared in a statement on Friday. “Congress passed that law, the President signed it, and now the Supreme Court of the United States has spoken with one voice to uphold it.”
Manchin, who serves as the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, continued, “Construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline will now resume, creating 4,500 jobs by the end of August. This is a great day for American energy security and an even greater day for the state of West Virginia.”
The Mountain Valley Pipeline, a natural gas project spanning over 300 miles between northwest West Virginia and southern Virginia, has been a cause close to Manchin’s heart. Once fully operational, it is expected to have a capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day. While over 94% of the project has already been completed, it has faced numerous legal and permitting setbacks.
The debt ceiling legislation directed the United States Army Corps of Engineers to authorize the pipeline’s completion. By moving jurisdiction of the project out of the Fourth Circuit, a court that has consistently opposed the Mountain Valley Pipeline, the act aimed to expedite its progress. However, the court was still able to grant a temporary construction stay in response to a motion from the Southern Environmental Law Center challenging the Manchin provision.
The matter eventually reached the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in favor of the pipeline developers. Manchin even filed an amicus curiae brief with the high court in support of the project.
While Sen. Tim Kaine expressed his belief in the need for an administrative process, he objected to the provision in the debt ceiling deal that exempted the Mountain Valley Pipeline from normal permitting processes and stripped jurisdiction away from the Fourth Circuit.
Manchin was not alone in his support for including the Mountain Valley Pipeline in the debt ceiling deal. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), also a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, stated, “This pipeline has been worked through multiple decades and multiple iterations of processes. Yes, I think it belongs in this bill.”
When it comes to matters that enhance the country’s security, including economic and energy security, Murkowski believes the Mountain Valley Pipeline is a project that contributes to those goals.
Click here to read more from The Washington Examiner.
Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
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