A federal appeals court this week affirmed a lower court’s ruling in Virginia to dismiss yet another challenge brought by a group of landowners and a trust against the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP).

The landowners challenged FERC’s policy of allowing pipeline companies to use eminent domain after a certificate has been issued and tried unsuccessfully to challenge the Commission’s review process by arguing that provisions of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) are unconstitutional.

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia had dismissed the complaint on two grounds, primarily that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case because a challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s order authorizing the project is subject first to agency review. The lower court also alternatively said that Congress “implicitly divested the district court of jurisdiction.”

“Congress intended to divest district courts of jurisdiction to hear the claims pursued by plaintiffs and instead intended those claims to be brought under the statutory review scheme established by the Natural Gas Act,” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said in affirming the lower court’s decision to dismiss the case.

The landowners had also argued that the NGA requires FERC to review petitions for rehearing within 30 days, and that by tolling challenges, the Commission unfairly delays judicial review while simultaneously allowing pipeline projects to proceed. That argument has been deployed frequently as infrastructure opponents try to stymie projects.

While the court acknowledged that the practice might “deny a plaintiff meaningful judicial review,” it said the NGA does not require a final decision from the Commission within 30 days. The appeals court said the law “requires FERC to take some kind of action within 30 days for the petition not to be deemed denied by operation of law. FERC does so by issuing the tolling order.”

Attorneys for the plaintiffs said they were reviewing the appeals court’s opinion and deciding how to move forward.

The 300-mile MVP would move 2 Bcf/d from West Virginia to Virginia and connect with the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line to move more Appalachian natural gas to Southeast markets. FERC issued a certificate for the project in October, and it has faced staunch opposition since.

EQT Corp. said on Thursday service on the pipeline would be delayed by three months, as the project’s sponsors work through a separate legal challenge from the Sierra Club and other opponents.

MVP is a joint venture of EQT Midstream Partners LP (EQM), NextEra US Gas Assets LLC, Con Edison Transmission Inc., WGL Midstream and RGC Midstream LLC. It had been scheduled to enter service during the fourth quarter. But a federal appeals court’s decision last month to stay a crucial water crossing permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has prevented some work from progressing on the 300-mile pipeline.

The project is now targeting a 1Q2019 in-service date. The Army Corps recently filed a motion to lift the stay of the Nationwide Permit 12, which allows contractors to trench through the bottom of streams and rivers, arguing that it’s addressed the issues involved. EQM said Thursday it expects briefing to conclude this month, allowing the court to review and rule on the motion.