WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will consider reinstating a permit that was tossed out by a lower court that would allow construction of a natural gas pipeline through two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail.
The justices said Friday they will hear appeals filed by energy companies that want to build the 605-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline and the Trump administration, which initially approved the project.
The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., ruled in December that the U.S. Forest Service has no power to authorize the crossing of the popular trail and had “abdicated its responsibility to preserve national forest resources” when it approved the pipeline crossing the George Washington and Monongahela National Forests, as well as a right-of-way across the Appalachian Trial.
The pipeline, proposed in 2014 by Dominion Energy, Duke Energy and other energy companies, would originate in West Virginia and run through parts of Virginia and North Carolina. Under plans for the project, a 0.1-mile segment of the pipeline would cross more than 600 feet beneath the Appalachian Trail.
