July 29, 2023 - Epoch Times
10:26
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| Good evening, and right before we dive in, I'd like to quickly mention that over on Epic TV, our awesome no-censorship video platform, I just published a super-spicy episode detailing a new study which revealed some pretty bad news to the recipients of the Moderna mRNA-based vaccine. | |
| Now, unfortunately, even though in that episode we only go through that peer-reviewed study regarding the percentage of people that were found to have developed heart damage after getting the booster shot— Well, unfortunately, those types of studies, which go against the official narrative coming down from the WHO, are not exactly welcome here on YouTube. | |
| And so if you'd like to check out that awesome episode in its entirety, you can do so over on Epic TV. The link to it will be right there at the top of the description box below. | |
| Just click on that link and you can head on over and watch it right away. | |
| Jumping into the main topic, just yesterday, in a truly surprising decision, the U.S. Supreme Court went ahead and they issued an order allowing the work to resume on a massive West Virginia gas pipeline. | |
| Meaning that despite vast opposition from about a dozen different environmental climate activist organizations, this pipeline will be able to deliver approximately 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas every single day to the East Coast starting this winter. | |
| Furthermore, this particular project and the way that the legal system was used over the past 10 years against it, it really exposes, for one, why it's so expensive to build new infrastructure here in America, and also why our heating and gas bills are through the roof, even though, technically, America has some of the largest reserves on the planet. | |
| And so, let's start at the very beginning. | |
| Let's rewind the clock back nine years to October of 2014. | |
| This was when the Mountain Valley Pipeline began the building process, with the submission of some pre-filing documents with the federal government. | |
| Then, a full year later, in October of 2015, the company behind this project, they were able to file the formal application with FERC, which is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. | |
| On that particular application, they had an estimated cost to this particular pipeline being $3.5 billion, and an estimated completion date of around late 2018. | |
| Meaning, they assumed that everything would cost approximately $3.5 billion, and the project would only take about three years to finish. | |
| However, if you've ever dealt with the bureaucrats over in government, then you know that things don't run so smoothly. | |
| It took them two full years to get all the necessary certificates, the environmental impact statements, the water board certifications, the rights to operate on federal lands, approval from the Army Corps of Engineers, and so on and so forth. | |
| And so it was only in early 2018 that construction was able to begin a pipeline. | |
| At that point, they assumed that it would be ready to go by late 2019, and so they already moved the estimated date of completion by a year. | |
| However, that was again too optimistic because about a dozen different environmental activist legal organizations, as well as several judges who are sympathetic to their cause, wound up tying this project up in an endless legal quagmire. | |
| Because you see, the Fourth Circuit Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, in one decision after another, they took away the company's right to go through federal land. | |
| They struck down the work permit that was issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. | |
| They rescinded the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services opinion that the project could continue. | |
| The state of Virginia sued the company for millions of dollars for allegedly violating environmental policies. | |
| And then, eventually, in October of 2019, when the project was 92% complete, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, they ordered all the work to stop. | |
| But, unfortunately for the company, things went from bad to worse. | |
| Because 2020 rolled around, and the work was taking so long that one of the pipeline contractors sued the company for over $103 million in back pay. | |
| Then in August, another one of the water quality certificates was denied. | |
| In September, things took a little bit of a turn for the better. | |
| The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, after a lengthy reinvestigation, issued an opinion saying that the pipeline will not jeopardize any of the five endangered or threatened species that live in the area. | |
| And that same month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissued several of their work permits. | |
| However, the company still lacked the ability to finish the pipeline on several dozen crucial miles of federal lands because they just were not able to get that permission. | |
| This problem persisted all the way up until 2023. | |
| This was when, in May of this year, Senator Joe Manchin from West Virginia, he added a provision to the so-called Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which made getting a federal permit for energy projects that much easier. | |
| Now, if you remember, back then there was the so-called debt ceiling crisis. | |
| And in order to secure his vote on the bill that would raise the debt ceiling, the Democrat Party, they caved to Joe Manchin's request and they included that particular provision in the bill. | |
| And so then... | |
| With this new federal bill now in place after it was signed into law by Joe Biden, the pipeline's completion seemed like it was on the horizon. | |
| On July 9th of this year, meaning just three weeks ago, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, FERC, they finally gave their approval for construction to restart on the pipeline, with an estimated finish time being finally at the end of this year. | |
| But wouldn't you know it, on the very next day, on July 10th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit once again blocked construction of the pipeline. | |
| Specifically, quote, Wilderness Society and other environmental groups sought an injunction to halt construction. | |
| Those groups argued in court that the Mountain Valley Pipeline construction would negatively affect endangered species and said that the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management violated environmental statutes by improving its construction. | |
| And thus, the legal quagmire continued. | |
| And really, do think about this for a moment. | |
| This pipeline at this point was 95% complete. | |
| It had support from both the legislative and executive branches of the government, who included a provision in the Fiscal Responsibility Act in order to see this project actually get done before winter. | |
| And yet, about a dozen environmental groups, alongside a sympathetic judge, could continue to tie the project up in endless red tape. | |
| Now, seeing the situation play out, the lawyers for the pipeline company, they filed an emergency intervention request to the U.S. Supreme Court asking them to take quick action in order to, quote, keep plans on track to finish building the 300-mile pipeline and put it into service by the winter when the need for natural gas for heating grows. | |
| Mountain Valley Pipeline said that the work is largely complete. | |
| Except for a three-mile section that cuts through the Jefferson National Forest. | |
| That is, if nothing else, amazing. | |
| Three miles of pipeline left to go, and the project was once again stalled. | |
| However, it is stalled no more, because as I mentioned at the top of the episode, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a rather surprising move, ruled just yesterday, on Thursday, that the work on the pipeline can resume. | |
| They overruled the decision from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and allowed the project to continue. | |
| The last three miles of the pipeline can finally be built, and the whole thing is set to be operational by the end of this year, by the end of 2023, in time for winter. | |
| As you can imagine, the local representatives in that area, they were rather pleased with the decision. | |
| For instance, Mr. | |
| Patrick Morrissey, who is the Attorney General for West Virginia, he said this in a statement as a response to the ruling. | |
| Quote... | |
| The Mountain Valley Pipeline is vital to the survival of American energy independence and affects thousands of jobs in West Virginia. | |
| Its completion is also critical to our national security. | |
| The urgent need is for it to be completed as soon as possible. | |
| Alright, if you're like me, then probably once a week you stop for a second and you ponder to yourself Whatever happened to Chuck Norris? | |
| Well, I recently saw a video that he made, and I was shocked. | |
| The man is in his 80s, but he's still kicking butt, staying fit, working out, and staying active. | |
| What's even more shocking is that he's stronger, he can work out longer, and he even has plenty of energy left over for his grandkids. | |
| And he says he did this by making one single change. | |
| He convinced his wife to make the same change as well, and now she says she feels younger, leaner, and again, she has more energy for her grandkids all day long. | |
| Now, Chuck made an awesome video explaining everything. | |
| And by watching it, you might actually change your opinion about health. | |
| So head on over to chuckdefense.com forward slash Roman and see it for yourself. | |
| Again, that's chuckdefense.com forward slash Roman to see what Chuck Norris is up to. | |
| And indeed, barring any unforeseen circumstances, this new pipeline will very likely not only be a boon to the local economy, but will also provide reliable and less expensive energy to America. | |
| Specifically, this pipeline will be able to transport 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas from Marcellus and Utica Shale sites of Appalachia over to the East Coast. | |
| Furthermore, according to the pipeline developer, this new pipeline is, However, as you just saw, bringing this project to fruition was a complete legal quagmire. | |
| Between the red tape, several dozen environmental activist legal groups, as well as several sympathetic judges, the cost of this project had ballooned. | |
| Initially, it was scheduled to be completed in late 2018 with a price tag of $3.5 billion. | |
| However, the reality is that it will likely be completed in late 2023, which is five years past the initial deadline, and the ultimate price tag will be about $6.6 billion, roughly double what the estimate was. | |
| And so, looking at this mountain valley pipeline, it's a good microcosm of what's happening in the country more broadly. | |
| The difficulties of building new infrastructure, the reluctance of investors to invest in new projects like this, as well as why the cost of heating and gas remain so high. | |
| If you'd like to go deeper into this story, as well as the decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, I'll throw all my research notes from today's episode. | |
| They will be down in the description box below this video for you to peruse at your own leisure. | |
| And then lastly, as I mentioned at the very top of the episode, over on EpicTV, we just published an awesome, super spicy episode detailing a new study which revealed some pretty bad news to those people who took the Moderna-based mRNA vaccine. | |
| Unfortunately, even though in that episode we only went through a peer-reviewed study regarding the percentage of people who had heart damage following booster vaccination, well unfortunately those types of studies, which go directly against the narrative coming down from the WHO, are now welcome here on YouTube. | |
| YouTube has a censorship policy that only accepts what the WHO says. | |
| And so, if you'd like to check out that awesome episode in its entirety, you can do so over on EpicTV, our no-censorship video platform. | |
| The link will, again, be right there at the very top of the description box below. | |
| I hope you check it out. | |
| You can just click on that link and head on over to EpicTV and watch that episode right away. | |
| And then, until next time, I'm your host, Roman from the Epic Times. |
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