Monday, July 30: On Friday the Federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in Sierra Club’s favor in a lawsuit challenging the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management’s approvals of the controversial Mountain Valley gas pipeline. Sierra Club, represented by Nathan Matthews and Elly Benson, together with Wild Virginia, Appalachian Voices, The Wilderness Society, Save Monroe, and Preserve Craig, argued that the Forest Service had violated numerous laws in issuing permits to allow the Mountain Valley Pipeline to cross the Jefferson National Forest in Virginia and West Virginia. The Court agreed, concluding that the agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Forest Management Act, and the Mineral Leasing Act. The Court vacated the agency approvals and remanded for further proceedings.
Read the official Sierra Club press release here.