4th Circuit again [temporarily] blocks construction on [Joe Manchin's pipeline]

[In It to Win It]

Appeals court again blocks construction on Mountain Valley Pipeline

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — A federal appeals court has again blocked construction on a segment of a contentious natural gas pipeline being built through Virginia and West Virginia, this time doing so even after Congress ordered the project's approval.

The stay issued Monday by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond comes after Congress passed legislation last month requiring all necessary permits be issued for construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The law also stripped the 4th Circuit from jurisdiction over the case.

Environmentalists, though, argued that Congress overstepped its authority by enacting the law, saying it violates the separation of powers outlined in the Constitution.

“Congress cannot pick winners and losers in pending litigation by compelling findings or results without supplying new substantive law for the courts to apply,” lawyers for the environmentalists wrote in court papers.

[agingdem]

1. Thoughts and prayers Joe Manchin