Manchin seeks SCOTUS intervention on Mountain Valley Pipeline

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler have asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the Mountain Valley Pipeline project after the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked its advancement.

The Mountain Valley Pipeline, upon completion, will stretch from West Virginia, over the Appalachian Mountains, and into Virginia. Complicating matters, however, is a three-mile stretch of the pipeline that must run through the Jefferson National Forest. While Congress granted the permits for pipeline to run through the federal land through the bipartisan debt ceiling deal, the appeals court in July granted a stay on the project in response to a suit from an environmental group.

Manchin and Reschenthaler, in response, filed separate amicus briefs with the Supreme Court asking the bench to side with the company building the pipeline, which has filed an emergency request for relief, The Hill reported. Forming the basis of the request is a provision in the debt deal that explicitly removed the Fourth Circuit's jurisdiction over the pipeline and transferred it to Washington, D.C. That Richmond-based court has previously intervened in the project.

"It’s a shame when members of Congress have to ask the Supreme Court to intervene to maintain the credibility of the laws that we have passed and the President has signed, but I am confident that the Court will uphold our laws and allow construction of [the Mountain Valley Pipeline] to resume," Manchin said.

Reschenthaler for his part urged the court to address the "ludicrous activism seeping out of the lower court so American families can enjoy lower energy costs, substantial land royalties, and most importantly — law and order in America."

The project is of particular import to Manchin, for whom the completion of the crucial energy project in his home state has become an increasingly Sisyphean task. Last year, Manchin cut a deal with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to support the Inflation Reduction Act in exchange for a separate permitting reform plan to expedite the pipeline's completion.

Manchin came through on his end, though opposition from environmentalist Democrats rendered Schumer unable to honor the bargain.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.