Restart the Mountain Valley Pipeline

Attorney General Morrisey Files SCOTUS Brief: Restart the
Mountain Valley Pipeline
CHARLESTON — West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has filed a brief, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold Section 324 of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 to restart the stalled construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit earlier this month issued a stay of the construction of the 303.5-mile-long pipeline—which is mostly complete—while the court considers arguments on motions to dismiss petitions that challenged permits that Congress explicitly approved in the Act to expedite completion of the pipeline, and the constitutionality of the Act itself.
The order stopped the pipeline construction of a 3.5-mile stretch in the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia, as well as several stream crossings in West Virginia.
“The Fourth Circuit court does not have jurisdiction to rule on this as Congress made it clear that the permits are approved, and any challenge to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 pertaining to the pipeline must be heard in the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “The Mountain Valley Pipeline is vital to the survival of American energy independence and affects thousands of jobs in West Virginia—its completion is also critical to our national security, the urgent need is for it to be completed as soon as possible.”
The brief urges the Supreme Court to uphold the crystal-clear intent of the Act.
“It’s well within Congress’s power to approve the permits and direct all the challenges to the Act to the D.C. Circuit,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “Non-completion denies West Virginia the plethora of much needed economic benefits.”
The pipeline begins from the gas fields in northwestern West Virginia then heads into interstate connections in Virginia—the Atlantic Coast region. Completion of the pipeline will reduce energy costs for millions of American homes and stimulate state economies, including West Virginia’s.
According to America First Policy Institute, the pipeline is expected to provide an additional $45 million in annual tax revenue to West Virginia and Virginia, and have a delivery capacity of 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas.