Appalachian Voices v. United States Department of the Interior, No. 23-1384 (4th Cir. 2023)
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These consolidated cases present weighty and important questions involving the separation of powers as it relates to a project of national interest. Petitioners are environmental groups challenging federal agency actions that will enable the final construction and initial operation of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 300-plus-mile underground pipeline that will transport natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia. But during the pendency of this matter before the Fourth Circuit, Congress proactively intervened by legislation and enacted the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023. Section 324 of that Act purports to ratify the agencies’ actions regarding the Mountain Valley Pipeline and remove our jurisdiction over the underlying petitions. Respondents—the federal agencies and the Mountain Valley Pipeline—moved in for the dismissal of the petitions.
The Fourth Circuit granted Respondents’ motions to dismiss. In sum, with Section 324, Congress removed our jurisdiction in a way that mandates the dismissal of the underlying petitions, which challenge agency actions that grant necessary approvals for the completion of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The court explained that “no court” has jurisdiction to review these approvals, including the DC Circuit, whose jurisdiction is limited to “claims alleging the invalidity of [Section 324] or that an action is beyond the scope of authority conferred by [Section 324].” But Congress left in place the general grant of jurisdiction to this Court under the Natural Gas Act over challenges to future pipelines or other natural gas facilities in this circuit, as well as future challenges to operations of the Mountain Valley Pipeline not covered by the express terms of Section 324.
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