As construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline draws closer, a coalition of environmental groups is asking a federal appeals court to issue a stay that would stop the project in its tracks.
Filed late Monday, the motion argues that a court-ordered delay is needed to prevent the “irreparable environmental harm” that would occur once work on the buried natural gas pipeline begins.
“Once private property is taken, mature trees are cut, steep slopes denuded, wetlands filled, trenches dug, and a high pressure large-diameter pipeline is laid and filled with gas, the court can no longer restore the status quo,” the motion states.
The request for a stay, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, aims to stop tree felling and other construction that could start as soon as Feb. 1.
