Mountain Valley Pipeline Water Permits Meet Wary Appeals Court

Two states’ water permits for a Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC extension were heavily scrutinized by a federal appeals panel during oral arguments Tuesday, as judges appeared skeptical of whether the compliance conditions in North Carolina and Virginia are strong enough for an operator with a history of environmental violations.

The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit must decide if it will temporarily block Clean Water Act approvals for segments of the Southgate project route as environmental groups challenge the states’ decisions in two separate cases. While Mountain Valley Pipeline’s attorney said they are “in vigorous agreement” with regulators ...