LUMBERTON — The builders of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will get their day in the United States Supreme Court.
The justices agreed Friday to hear an appeal by the pipeline’s builders and President Donald Trump’s administration that asks the nation’s highest court to overturn a Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling and reinstate a permit to allow construction of the ACP through two national forests, including parts of the Appalachian Trail. The appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, had ruled that the U.S. Forest Service lacks the power to grant rights-of-way to cross beneath the Appalachian Trail.
“The Supreme Court’s acceptance of our petition is a very encouraging sign and provides a clear path forward to resolve this important issue,” said Aaron Ruby, a spokesperson for the pipeline’s builders. “The law and the facts are on our side, and we’re supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders. The U.S. solicitor general, 16 state attorneys general and more than a dozen industry and labor organizations all agree that the U.S. Forest Service has the authority to approve our Appalachian Trail crossing.”
The Supreme Court’s next session begins Monday. The pipeline’s builders filed their petition in July to have their case heard by the Supreme Court.
The 600-mile pipeline would carry fracked natural gas from West Virginia to a point near Pembroke. Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and Southern Company Gas are partners in the construction of the pipeline.
“More than 50 other pipelines cross underneath the Appalachian Trail without disturbing its public use,” Ruby said. “The public interest requires a clear process for the issuance and renewal of permits for such pipelines, and other essential infrastructure.”
The ACP should be no different, he said. The pipeline would be installed more than 600 feet below the surface and more than a half-mile from each side of the Appalachian Trail to avoid any negative impacts.
“We look forward to making our case before the Supreme Court early next year and expect a final ruling by next June,” Ruby said. “We are confident in our arguments, and those of the solicitor general, and are hopeful the Supreme Court will overturn the Fourth Circuit’s decision and uphold the longstanding precedent allowing pipeline crossings of the Appalachian Trail.”
The builders remain confident they can resolve the ACP’s other permitting issues, he said. Resolution of those issues means the resumption of partial construction “in a timely manner,” Ruby said. A favorable resolution of the Appalachian Trail case will allow full construction to resume by the summer of 2020 and the pipeline to be completed by late 2021.
The other major legal challenge holding up construction of the pipeline also involves the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court vacated ACP’s Biological Opinion and Incidental Take Statement in July. The pipeline partners expect the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will be able to correct the issues identified by the court.
Construction of the pipeline can begin in North Carolina once this case is resolved, a pipeline spokesperson said in mid-September.
“The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is more important now than ever,” Ruby said. “The economic vitality, environmental health and energy security of our region depend on it.”
Communities across Hampton Roads, Virginia, and eastern North Carolina are experiencing chronic shortages of natural gas, he said. The region needs new infrastructure to support the U.S. military, manufacturing, home heating and cleaner electricity as the nation moves away from the use of coal.
Opponents of the ACP argue that it serves no economic need. They also argue that construction of the pipeline will cause irreparable damage to the environment and to the culture and history of American Indian people, such as the Lumbee Tribe, who live along or near the ACP’s route.
