It's a deal with the devil': outrage in Appalachia over Manchin's 'vile' pipeline plan

[CentralMass]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/26/joe-manchin-west-virginia-mountain-valley-pipeline

"The fossil-fuel friendly senator has resurrected the Mountain Valley pipeline, leaving residents with a bitter pill to swallow.
Taking on the fossil fuel industry in West Virginia was always going to be a David v Goliath type battle, but after years of protests, lobbying and lawsuits, 68-year-old Becky Crabtree thought the community-led resistance had beaten the Mountain Valley pipeline (MVP) in a fair fight.

So when news broke earlier in August that the state’s fossil-fuel friendly senator Joe Manchin had resurrected the beleaguered pipeline, Crabtree, a high school science teacher who teaches students about the climate crisis, felt “numb”.
Taking on the fossil fuel industry in West Virginia was always going to be a David v Goliath type battle, but after years of protests, lobbying and lawsuits, 68-year-old Becky Crabtree thought the community-led resistance had beaten the Mountain Valley pipeline (MVP) in a fair fight.

Manchin, a conservative Democrat who receives more campaign financing from the fossil fuel industry – including pipeline companies – than any other lawmaker in Congress, had agreed to back his party’s historic climate legislation before the crucial midterm elections. But only after he negotiated a side-deal to fast-track the MVP
“It’s the unfairness that makes me so angry. It’s a deal with the devil,” said Crabtree, 68, who owns a 30-acre sheep farm in Lindside, Monroe county.

The deal is a sweet one for the pipeline’s supporters. Democratic leaders agreed to advance separate legislation in September that would “require the relevant agencies to take all necessary actions to permit the construction and operation of the MVP and give the DC circuit jurisdiction over any further litigation”.

This could help the pipeline company circumvent judges who have suspended construction and overturned permits over environmental concerns, and have future legal cases heard in an appeals court in Washington, which is considered more favourable to developers.
It’s part of a broader set of concessions negotiated by Manchin to diminish environmental protections and expedite permits and construction of pipelines and other energy infrastructure, limiting legal challenges by concerned communities and environmental groups.

[orthoclad]

1. Why couldn't they just buy off Manchin

by promising to build renewable manufacturing in WV and LA where the fossil jobs are. Oh, that's right, Manchin's a fossil baron.

[Ray Bruns]

2. And how many of these hillbillies voted for him because of guns or abortion

[Elessar Zappa]

8. Better they vote for Manchin than a Republican.

Manchin’s not great but he’s voted for many of Biden’s bills and has voted to confirm all of Biden’s judges. He’s the best we can do in the deep red state of West Virginia.

[Baitball Blogger]

4. If they knew Manchin was a problem for them, why do they keep voting for him?

[orthoclad]

5. Emotional hot buttons

gods, guns, guts, etc. Plus many there look to coal for jobs, because that's what they know. Black gold and all that. Lot of pride there in supporting their family by doing dirty, dangerous work.

Jobs there are incredibly scarce. People drive over 50 miles to work. When you're hanging on by a thread, you stick with the tried and true.

[Deminpenn]

6. The reconciliation bill is signed into law now

I'm not even sure the pipeline bill would pass since Rs oppose all proposed Dem legislation on principle now and there will be Dems who will vote against it.

[CentralMass]

7. The R's would not oppose a pipeline bill.

[Deminpenn]

9. You sure?

Rs have voted against all kinds of bills you'd think they'd support just because they were brought forward by Dems.

[Hortensis]

10. I read that 94% of the pipeline has been completed, but wasn't

able to verify how accurate that figure is. For instance, does it include the 8-mile extension to connect to another pipeline? Without, it looks like there's about 20 miles still to be completed.

One family that had fought its path through their over 500-acre wooded mountain site lost their case just this summer. The jury awarded a very large settlement, and they're happy with that but say they'd choose no pipeline instead. As soon as the pipeline company won, they rushed equipment in and began clearing the easement.