Charleston, WV — Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the below statement on the decision by the U.S. 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals to further delay construction of the Mountain Valley pipeline.

“It is infuriating to see the same 4th Circuit Court panel deal yet another setback for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project and once again side with activists who seem hell-bent on killing any fossil energy that will make our country energy independent and secure. This pipeline is more than 90% constructed with 283 miles already laid, and once through the red tape can bring an additional 2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas onto the market within months. This project has been through three rounds of water quality permitting but activist groups continue to litigate the last 20 miles, standing in the way of restoring land to its natural beauty, getting more product to market to bolster our energy security and bring down prices, and allowing West Virginians to benefit from the natural resources they own. As OPEC and Putin continue to manipulate energy to suit their agendas, the United States must step up to the plate to get more of our abundant natural resources – which are among the cleanest produced in the world – to market, both for our own energy security and that of our friends and allies around the world.”