Manchin won promise from key Democrats to complete controversial pipeline as part of reconciliation package

As part of last week's surprise reconciliation bill from Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Manchin secured a promise to complete the controversial Mountain Valley Pipeline to carry natural gas from West Virginia to market, Lisa Friedman reports for The New York Times.

Manchin's office revealed Monday "details of the side agreement he struck with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic majority leader, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Biden," Friedman reports. "It would ensure that federal agencies 'take all necessary actions to permit the construction and operation' of the gas line."

A federal appeals court has overturned permits issued by the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, "saying that their analyses about adverse impacts on wildlife, sedimentation and erosion were flawed," Friedman reports. "The delays have been so extensive that the project’s certification from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will expire in October. The developers are seeking an extension for a second time."

The deal would give the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit jurisdiction over all future legal challenges, "taking the case away from the Fourth District, where environmentalists had found success," Friedman notes.