Supreme Court to hear case on natural gas-bearing Atlantic Coast Pipeline

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed last week to hear a case regarding a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit resolution to vacate a U.S. Forest Service Special Use Permit and Record of Decision allowing a natural gas pipeline beneath the Appalachian Trail.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, jointly owned by Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, and Southern Company, appealed the lower court’s decision, arguing that the pipeline would bring much-needed supplies to the Southeast, provide energy security, and offer economic growth in the region. They claim the pipeline would deliver lower costs for the natural gas supply, increase supplier diversity, improve the system’s flexibility and reliability, and improve the natural gas transmission infrastructure.

However, the appeals court ruled that the U.S. Mineral Leasing Act does not allow the U.S. Forest Service to authorize the pipeline in the National Park System. Plans had called for the pipeline’s installation more than 600 feet below the surface and more than a half-mile from either side of the Appalachian Trail.

The pipeline has stated this opinion to be at odds with the prior agreement of the U.S. Department of Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service.

The Supreme Court will likely take up the case early in 2020, with a final ruling expected sometime by June 2020. Developers hope a favorable outcome would allow construction on schedule for a late 2021 completion.