Mountain Valley Pipeline Shield in Manchin Deal Raises Hackles

Sen. Joe Manchin’s legislative deal to press the Biden administration to approve the Mountain Valley Pipeline and make sure appeals avoid a court that has struck down the project’s permits is unusual and could face legal challenges, energy analysts said.

Lawmakers have rarely, if ever, pushed agencies to permit a project such as the 304-mile natural gas pipeline project in West Virginia and Virginia that has faced legal setbacks, they said.

The deal also would direct all appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, instead of the Fourth Circuit.

Lawmakers telling courts how to ...