SELC Statement on Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Effort to Resume Construction 

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – Today the company seeking to build the Mountain Valley Pipeline through steep, landslide-prone mountains in Virginia and West Virginia filed an application to the U.S. Supreme Court for an emergency stay of an order halting pipeline construction issued by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. 

The request for the emergency stay comes just days after the Fourth Circuit granted The Wilderness Society’s motion to stop construction of the pipeline through the Jefferson National Forest as the court evaluates the legality of permit approvals.  

In response to the pipeline company’s most recent action, Sarah Francisco, Director of SELC’s Virginia office, released the following statement:  

“The rider stuck in the debt ceiling deal to fast-track the destructive Mountain Valley Pipeline is not just bad policy, it’s unconstitutional. Congress violated the separation of powers—a bedrock principle of American democracy—when it tried to pick winners and losers in pending cases involving the pipeline. SELC and The Wilderness Society stand ready to file a response in the United States Supreme Court to defend an independent judiciary and the right of communities to have their day in court.”