Buchanan Represents Members of U.S. Congress in Amicus Brief to Urge the Supreme Court to Vacate the Fourth Circuit Stays that Halted Completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction
Update as of July 27, 2023
The Supreme Court has granted the application to vacate stays from the Fourth Circuit, allowing Mountain Valley Pipeline construction to continue. Read the full order from the Supreme Court here.
WASHINGTON (July 19, 2023) – Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States on behalf of Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), as well as Representatives Jeff Duncan (R-SC), Bill Johnson (R-OH), John Joyce (R-PA), Mike Kelly (R-PA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Carol Miller (R-WV), and Alex Mooney (R-WV). The amicus brief argues in support of bipartisan legislation passed to restart and complete construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
On July 11, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit again halted construction of the 303-mile pipeline, which is nearly 95% complete, despite Congress and the President's explicit approval of the project through the passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission green-lighted the construction on July 9, 2023.
The Congressional members who joined the brief either represent jurisdictions through which the pipeline runs or jurisdictions impacted by the benefits of the pipeline. Completion of the pipeline will bring a boon to economies throughout the region and reduced energy costs in neighboring states, ushering a new era of energy independence.
“Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is proud to have assisted members of Congress on this important issue before the U.S. Supreme Court, said Sean Moran, Shareholder and Oil & Gas Practice Group leader at Buchanan. “Infrastructure is critical to the production of clean, low-cost energy and to creating jobs and keeping utility bills low for consumers.”
The pipeline will help reduce energy costs in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Virginia. It will also stimulate the economies of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia with thousands of construction jobs, millions in royalties to landowners (including $150 million per year for Pennsylvania), and direct investments into rural communities.
The Buchanan team featured a cross-office and cross-section group of legal and government relations professionals including Sean Moran (Energy – Pittsburgh) Gretchen Jankowski (Litigation– Pittsburgh), Matthew Pilsner (Litigation – Pittsburgh), Chance Lyman (Litigation –Tampa), Natalie Peled (Litigation – San Diego), Amanda Wetzel (Litigation – Philadelphia), and Michael Strazzella (Government Relations – Washington DC).
Full text of the brief is available here.