Mountain Valley pipeline land fight returns to Supreme Court

By Niina H. Farah | 04/02/2024 06:50 AM EDT

Virginia residents say it is unconstitutional for federal regulators to allow pipeline companies to condemn private property.

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 21: People leave the U.S. Supreme Court on February 21, 2024 in Washington, DC. The Court heard oral arguments in Ohio v. Environmental Protection Agency and Warner Chappell Music v. Nealy. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The U.S. Supreme Court. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Virginia landowners are making a last-ditch request to the Supreme Court to allow their case against the Mountain Valley pipeline to continue — despite legislation from Congress blocking lawsuits against the project.

Cletus and Beverly Bohon are back with a new Supreme Court petition following a federal appeals court ruling in February that rejected the landowners’ constitutional challenge that aims to transform Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorizations for new natural gas pipelines.

The landowners last year convinced the high court to keep their eminent domain fight on life support after procedural disputes over which court could hear their case overshadowed the substance of their claims.

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In their new petition docketed March 22, the Bohons and other challengers are asking the Supreme Court to intervene again so that they can continue their fight to overturn what they say is FERC’s unconstitutional practice of delegating its power to condemn land to private pipeline developers.

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