Supreme Court Declines to Hear Suit on Eminent Domain for Gas Pipeline

Virginia landowners say the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lacks clear legislative guidelines, violating the separation of powers.

Construction crews work on a tunnel through which the Mountain Valley Pipeline will pass in Roanoke County, Va., on June 22, 2018. Heather Rousseau/The Roanoke Times via AP

The U.S. Supreme Court turned down a request by six southwest Virginia landowners to hear their arguments that Congress unconstitutionally gave a federal agency the power to seize their land for a natural gas pipeline.

The decision on May 20 to decline the case a second time leaves a question of jurisdiction unresolved.