Bill to benefit Mountain Valley Pipeline hits turbulence in Congress
Discord over the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which has taken a long and twisting path through local meeting halls, state and federal regulatory agencies and courtrooms too many to count, is now before Congress.
The latest dispute accelerated this week, when U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin unveiled legislation that would streamline a permitting process for energy projects in general — and in particular Mountain Valley, a natural gas pipeline that has been mired in controversy since it was first proposed in 1996.
Manchin, a Democrat from West Virginia, where the 303-mile pipeline begins a route that takes it through Southwest Virginia, says reform is needed to maintain the country’s energy independence and affordability.
In describing his bill during a 24-minute speech Tuesday on the Senate floor, posted to his website, Manchin did not mention Mountain Valley.
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But critics say the measure — part of an agreement with Democratic leadership that was based on Manchin’s key support for last month’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act — contains too many giveaways to the beleaguered project.
Among other things, the bill would require Congress to find that the timely completion of Mountain Valley is necessary. To that end, it would ensure prompt reviews and approvals by federal agencies, and establishes the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia as the presiding court for any legal challenge.
To date, a large part of Mountain Valley’s problems have arisen with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, which was has thrown out or stayed about a dozen permits granted by various federal agencies.
Switching courts is “highly unusual and completely unprecedented,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, said Thursday during a conference call with reporters.
Kaine
“It’s just a bridge too far, and I’m going to oppose it,” Kaine said.
Manchin, perhaps the most conservative Democrat in the Senate, provided vitally needed support for the Inflation Reduction Act, a key priority of his party that supporters say will boost funding for renewable energy, improve health care and help pay down the federal deficit.
In return, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President…
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