Environmental groups criticized the Democrats’ deal to greenlight a natural gas pipeline in West Virginia, saying such a provision would be “treasonous.” The groups argued that the Mountain Valley Natural Gas Pipeline (MVP), a 304-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia under construction, would mark a setback for federal protections of the environment and endangered species. The $6.6 billion pipeline is mostly complete but has faced a series of setbacks from federal agencies and the courts. Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., agreed to support the Cut Inflation Act, the $739 billion climate and tax package signed by President Biden last month, in exchange for support from Democratic leadership in a reform deal that would make it easier to approve energy projects, including fossil fuel pipelines. Under the agreement, which is expected to be included in the upcoming government funding bill, the MVP pipeline will receive broad federal approval. “Members of both parties who claim to believe in property rights must stand up against the abuses that MVP and other pipelines impose on landowners,” David Sligh, Wild Virginia’s conservation director who has fought the conduit. “Many people have had their greatest assets devalued or destroyed by the unfair practice of giving for-profit corporations the power of eminent domain.” BIDEN ADMIN AGREES WITH ECO GROUPS TO BLOCK MASSIVE OIL DRILLING LEASES President Biden signs the Inflation Reduction Act on August 16 flanked by Democratic lawmakers. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images) “Members of all parties should oppose an attempt to slip this atrocity into a continuing resolution or other major bill that must pass,” he continued. “If they intend to allow continued mistreatment of communities and more environmental destruction, they should have the honesty and courage to do so openly and discuss the issues fully and in a stand-alone bill.” Sligh added that approving the MVP pipeline would be a “betrayal” by both Democrats and GOP lawmakers, and noted that it would primarily affect Republican-leaning districts. CLIMATE WARRIOR DEMS SILENT ON MANCHIN BILL’S OIL AND GAS LEASING PROVISIONS More than 80 other environmental and nature groups wrote a letter Wednesday to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., saying the MVP pipeline would trap the U.S. to a “climate catastrophe” and “accelerating this country’s wildlife extinction crisis.” Sen. Joe Manchin, DW.Va., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., introduced the anti-inflation bill in late July after months of closed-door negotiations. (F. Carter Smith/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images/Getty Images) “The Mountain Valley Pipeline is an ecological and climate disaster that threatens one of the largest remaining wild landscapes in the eastern United States,” the letter, which was led by the Center for Biological Diversity and along with Defenders of Wildlife, Greenpeace USA and Sierra Club among others, he said. “This disastrous pipeline was rejected by the federal courts in part because of the devastation it would cause to endangered species and sensitive ecosystems along its path.” Equitrans Midstream, a Pennsylvania-based gas transportation company, first proposed the pipeline in 2014. The Trump administration issued initial permits for the project in 2017 and reissued the permit in early 2021. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS OIL AND GAS DRILLING PLANS, REVEALING TRUMP ERA CONTEXT But a federal appeals court ruled in January that the Trump administration failed to properly consider the project’s environmental impacts when issuing the permits following a legal challenge by a coalition of environmental groups led by Wild Virginia. Equitrans said in August it expected the pipeline to be operational in the second half of 2023. Federal regulators gave the company until 2026 to complete the project. Meanwhile, 72 House Democrats, including House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote a letter Friday to Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., calling them to reject the reform deal. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS “Inclusion of these provisions in a continuing resolution or any other mandatory legislation would silence the voices of frontline and environmental justice communities by shielding them from scrutiny,” they wrote.
