SCOTUS Clears Path for MVP Construction, Equation Campaign Dials Up Support for Frontlines

August 1, 2023

Last Thursday, the Supreme Court temporarily cleared the way for the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) by granting a request from the pipeline developers to lift a lower court order that had halted the project. Construction through mountainous terrain and in Appalachia can begin imminently, defying climate science and threatening lands, waters, and communities along the way.  

The pipeline undermines the Biden administration’s own climate and environmental justice goals by unnecessarily extending the fossil fuel era in the region for decades to come, representing annual emissions equivalent to 19 million new passenger vehicles, while threatening lands, waters and communities along the way. 

Equation Campaign’s MVP Resistance Support 

Currently, Equation Campaign has supported more than a dozen organizations and leaders in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina who have been opposing the MVP pipeline that cuts through the heart of their homelands. Local groups have fiercely organized against the pipeline with every strategy available: filing lawsuits, challenging permits, targeting investors, and engaging in media campaigns, protest and civil disobedience. 

Equation Campaign has also funded regional and national organizations working to #StopMVP, and the lawyers defending the rights of activists and organizations who continue to face retaliation from the industry. To meet the current challenge, Equation Campaign recently approved an additional $2.6 million to organizations in WV, VA and NC, and state and regional organizations who are continuing their resistance both inside and outside the beltway and the courtroom, and bringing new strategies to end this dangerous pipeline once and for all.

Katie Redford, executive director of Equation Campaign shared, “As the nation is reeling from extreme and deadly weather events, we need to stop pouring fuel on the flames. The Biden administration cannot claim to be climate champions, while supporting fossil fuel projects like Willow and MVP that lock in emissions for decades to come. The fact that these dangerous projects are overwhelmingly sited in BIPOC and poor communities, who already bear the brunt of health and climate harms from fossil fuels, flies in the face of their environmental justice commitments as well. But this project is a long way from completion, and we are calling on our fellow funders to join us in doubling down in their support, as the frontlines double down on their campaign to #StopMVP and our governments’ continued support of fossil fuels.”

New MVP Lawsuit at 4th Circuit Court of Appeals

On the same day as SCOTUS’ decision, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in a new lawsuit filed by numerous Equation Campaign grantees challenging the “MVP Rider” to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, raising separation of powers concerns regarding this unprecedented congressional action.  

Lawsuits Dropped Against MVP Protestors

Last Thursday, Roanoke County, VA dropped a $13,000 lawsuit against three MVP protesters after revelations that the County had filed the suit as a warning that “MVP protesting will not be tolerated in the County, and that protesters will be responsible for costs incurred.”  Equation Campaign funded the lawyers and organizations providing legal defense on behalf of the three “Old Folks Resist” who engaged in peaceful protest, including rocking chair blockades, to stop the pipeline.  

Redford recently wrote in The Nation about the rise of lawsuits against activists by corporations and governments seeking to silence activists speaking out on matters of public interest, such as fossil fuel infrastructure. These lawsuits, known as SLAPPs, set out to threaten activists and drain the financial resources of social movements. “We at Equation Campaign predict that SLAPPs will continue to rise across the country as the climate crisis intensifies. We are prepared to provide the legal services and support to stop them in their tracks like we just witnessed in Roanoke County.” 

To discuss next steps, and ongoing funding needs for the fight against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, please contact: katie@equationcampaign.org