Supreme Court Signals Resistance to Blocking Atlantic Coast Pipeline
February 24 2020 - 12:35PM
Dow Jones News
By Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday suggested it was
unlikely to block a planned natural-gas pipeline from running under
a section of a major East Coast hiking trail.
At issue is the planned Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would
transport natural gas from West Virginia across 600 miles to sites
in Virginia and North Carolina. The project, a partnership in which
Dominion Energy Inc. and Duke Energy Corp. are major investors, is
designed to reach East Coast markets and respond to demand for
cleaner-burning fuel.
Environmentalists sued to challenge the U.S. regulatory process
for approving the pipeline and won a notable decision in 2018 that
faulted several parts of the approval process. Importantly, that
ruling said the U.S. Forest Service didn't have the authority to
grant a special-use permit that allowed the pipeline developers to
construct a segment underneath a section of the Appalachian
Trail.
During oral arguments Monday, conservative justices, who hold a
majority on the Supreme Court, questioned that decision, as did at
least one of the court's more liberal members, Justice Stephen
Breyer.
Chief Justice John Roberts said the environmentalists' arguments
could erect an "impermeable barrier" that would prevent the
pipeline from crossing the trail and reaching East Coast
customers.
Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the environmentalists' position
threatened enormous consequences, while Justice Breyer suggested
the pipeline was less of a problem because it was running hundreds
of feet below ground and not actually across the trail.
A decision is expected by the end of June.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 24, 2020 12:20 ET (17:20 GMT)
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