U.S. Supreme Court to hear case of gas pipeline seeking to cross Appalachian Trail in Va.
Source: Washington Post
RICHMOND The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether a lower court was correct to block a major natural gas pipeline from crossing the Appalachian Trail in the mountains of Virginia. The high courts intervention could remove a barrier for construction of the $7.5 billion, 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which has been halted for nearly a year because of various permitting woes.
Builders of the pipeline, led by primary stakeholder Dominion Energy, and the Trump administration appealed a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that said the U.S. Forest Service lacked authority to grant a permit to tunnel under the popular hiking trail.
The Supreme Courts acceptance of our petition is a very encouraging sign and provides a clear path forward to resolve this important issue, Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said via email Friday morning.
Dominion and its coalition, which also includes Duke Energy of North Carolina, argue that more than 50 other pipelines cross beneath sections of the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. Environmental groups who brought the original challenge to the permit vowed to continue fighting.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/us-supreme-court-to-hear-case-of-gas-pipeline-seeking-to-cross-appalachian-trail-in-va/2019/10/04/64c1624c-e6b3-11e9-a6e8-8759c5c7f608_story.html