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SCOTUS Grants Request to Vacate MVP Construction Stays

By Renée Lani posted 08-10-2023 12:37 PM

  
On July 27, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) issued an order that vacated the orders staying construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).  A copy of the three-sentence order is available here.

Last month, APGA joined a number of other trade associations in submitting an amici curiae brief to SCOTUS in support of MVP’s emergency request to vacate the stays of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit pertaining to the construction of its pipeline.  While the SCOTUS ruling removed the construction stays, the Fourth Circuit continues to hear arguments on the case, while both the pipeline and the Biden administration are asking the court to dismiss the suits.

Recall that legislation passed earlier this year to increase the country’s debt ceiling—referred to as the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA)—also included language that was intended to prevent the pipeline’s construction from further being stalled over litigation pertaining to federally-issued permits.  Despite the FRA language, a number of related legal challenges are still ongoing.

APGA engages in natural gas pipeline development issues, as pipelines continue to be the safest mode to transport natural gas resources.  More than 4.1 million American jobs are connected to the natural gas industry, many of which are high paying and union jobs.  Additional natural gas infrastructure development also benefits APGA members’ customers, as the overwhelming majority of these public gas systems are captive to one pipeline, which can negatively impact pipeline rates.

For questions on this article, please contact Renée Lani of APGA staff by phone at 202-464-0836 or by email at rlani@apga.org.

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