Supreme Court Says Pipeline May Cross Underneath Appalachian Trail
At the heart of the case was a legal question about which federal agency — if any — had authority to grant a permit for the pipeline, which would cross under the trail in central Virginia.
The Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a pipeline company in a dispute about whether a new 600-mile natural gas pipeline could cross underneath the Appalachian Trail on federal land.
The 7-2 decision overturned one part of a lower court decision that had blocked construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is being jointly developed by Duke Energy and Dominion Energy.
The proposed pipeline would run from West Virginia to population centers in Virginia and North Carolina. In central Virginia, the pipeline would cross hundreds of feet underground beneath the Appalachian Trail where
