The sponsors of Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) are evaluating what comes next for the beleaguered natural gas project after a federal appeals court on Wednesday vacated its Endangered Species Act (ESA) authorizations and further setback construction. 

Mountain Valley Pipeline

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit invalidated MVP’s Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement, sending them back to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for further review. Without the authorizations, construction can’t move ahead. The order comes after the Fourth Circuit last month vacated and remanded approvals by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management that permit the pipeline to cross the Jefferson National Forest. 

“The MVP project team is taking time to thoroughly review the...