"The Supreme Court will not wade into a closely watched battle over a practice that allows natural gas pipeline developers to access private lands before paying.

Givens v. Mountain Valley Pipeline, a case that deals with a type of eminent domain known as "quick take," was among a long list of petitions the justices rejected this morning.

The high court declined to consider landowners' plea that the builders of the 300-mile pipeline through West Virginia and Virginia should not be able to begin construction on their property without first paying "just compensation," as guaranteed under the Constitution."

Niina H. Farah and Pamela King report for Greenwire October 7, 2019. [2]