A federal appeals court has blocked construction from resuming on the stalled Mountain Valley Pipeline in West Virginia and Virginia, Kallanish Energy reports.

That order came last Friday from the 4^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

The court issued a temporary administrative stay of three steam crossing permits had been re-issued on Sept. 25 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The halt will remain in place until the appeals court can consider a full stay that was sought earlier by environmental groups opposed to the 303-mile pipeline.

On Oct. 9, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had also given its approval for construction to resume except for a 25-mile segment in the Jefferson National Forest in western Virginia.

Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC still needs a permit from the U.S. Forest Service to complete the natural gas pipeline. That permit is expected later this year.

Eight environmental groups had asked the appeals court to halt construction on the $5.7 billion pipeline until appeals of the re-issued federal permits can be heard.

Work was halted in October 2019 over legal challenges and permits being rescinded.

The pipeline is 92% complete and should be finished in early 2021, the company has said.

The pipeline is designed to move Marcellus and Utica shale natural gas to markets in Virginia and the Carolinas.

The pipeline is owned by joint-venture partners EQM Midstream Partners, NextEra US Gas Assets, Con Edison Transmission, WGL Midstream, and RGC Midstream.

This post appeared first on Kallanish Energy News.