ROANOKE, Va. — A federal judge has declined to block the blasting of bedrock on a Virginia mountain where a natural gas pipeline is supposed to be laid.
U.S. District Judge Elizabeth Dillon says she lacks authority to step in to a dispute over the Mountain Valley Pipeline because a Bent Mountain landowner already had sought action from federal regulators.
The property owner says the blasting could contaminate well water.
The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and pipeline officials have said they’ve not seen evidence of the potential harm described by the owner.
The 303-mile (488-kilometer) pipeline will come through West Virginia and Virginia.
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