Judge Rules Pipeline Surveyors Away from Couple’s Property

A judge says the developer of a proposed natural gas pipeline can’t survey a West Virginia couple’s property without their permission. Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Robert Irons says Mountain Valley Pipeline failed to establish that the project would provide sufficient public use to justify entering private property without an owner’s permission. Mountain Valley Pipeline spokeswoman Natalie Cox says the company will review the judge’s order and consider its options. The 300-mile pipeline would transport natural gas from Wetzel County to another pipeline in Pittsylvania County, Virginia.