For the second time, a federal appeals court has thrown out government approvals for the Mountain Valley natural gas pipeline to pass through Jefferson National Forest. The Roanoke Times reports that today’s decision by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came after a three-judge panel found that the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management failed to properly predict — and to prevent — erosion and sedimentation problems caused by building the massive infrastructure project. The ruling sends the permit back to the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management for reconsideration. The first time the court did that in 2018 it took two years for the agencies to approve a second permit — the one turned away today by the Fourth Circuit.
