January 31, 2018
Arguments by a Waldo & Lyle attorney have helped persuade a judge to delay the construction of 300 miles of the Mountain Valley Pipeline through Southwest Virginia.
The decision by U.S. District Court Judge Elizabeth Dillon blocks the entry of the utility company to start timber cutting and clearing on onto the land of 300 property owners.
The affected properties sit in the counties of Giles, Craig, Montgomery, Roanoke, Franklin and Pittsylvania.
“This is a victory for the landowner along the pipeline, absolutely, “ said Stephen Clarke, the Waldo & Lyle attorney who argued the case. “There’s no way they can start construction on a vast majority of properties.”
Clarke argued that the utility had not satisfied the constitution’s requirement for showing it could provide just compensation, a requirement that had to be met before construction could begin.
Read the report of the decision in the Roanoke-Times:
