Mountain Valley Pipeline faces further delay after court tosses water permit

On Monday, a federal appeals court voided a vital state water permit for the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a decision that is likely to delay the construction of the natural gas pipeline leading some members of Congress to unilaterally approve the passage of the project. Environmental and local interest groups have been contesting the pipeline’s harm to the climate and environment in Court for almost ten years, causing repeated stumbling blocks for the project’s development.

The 4th Circuit court nullified and returned the water quality certification issued by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection regarding the pipeline’s water quality. Under the Clean Water Act, a water quality certification serves as a condition precedent issued for a project, which the Army Corps of Engineers of the US must provide. Inconsistencies with the state’s certification as identified by the Court include its failure to provide an adequate rationale for withholding a location-specific antidegradation appraisal for the authorisation process. States’ water quality requirements must include an antidegradation procedure to balance the advantages and disadvantages of a proposed venture that could damage water quality, according to the Clean Water Act.

The judges concluded that West Virginia also unreasonably failed to adequately consider the pipeline development company’s previous water quality violations during its certification process. “Although the Department acknowledged MVP’s violation history, it failed to dispel the tension between MVP’s checkered past and its confidence in MVP’s future compliance,” the judges stated in their explanation.

Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC, the project’s developer, claimed that 94 percent of the pipeline was complete and was hoping to have the pipeline in service before the end of the year. However, due to the delay resulting from the Court’s decision, the developer will now have to postpone completion even further. Appalachian Voices, which is one of the environmental groups contesting the permit, hailed the Court’s decision and stated that the pipeline “needs to be cancelled.”

The Mountain Valley Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline stretching over 300 miles from northwestern West Virginia to southern Virginia, and construction was initiated in 2014. Challengers have successfully contested the project on various fronts, questioning a variety of permits fundamental to the pipeline’s operation. In February 2022, the 4th Circuit invalidated the Forest Service’s construction authorization for the pipeline, which was granted during Donald Trump’s administration.

However, in relation to Virginia’s water quality certification for the MVP, opponents recently failed to persuade the Fourth Circuit to void a lower court decision confirming it. The fate of the pipeline has become a hot topic in Washington, D.C., with Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) leading its campaign for completion. Last year, Manchin, who led the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced legislation to reform federal environmental permits for energy projects. The bill directed all relevant agencies to approve the pipeline and relocate all litigation regarding the pipeline from the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.

The legislation failed many attempts at passage at the end of the last Congress. Some lawmakers viewed the pipeline as a pet project for Manchin, and it was the only project specifically mentioned in the bill. Carol Miller (R-WV), a representative, attempted to append the Mountain Valley approval onto H.R. 1, the Republicans’ energy and environmental permits bill, which passed on Thursday, but the amendment failed.