"Federal officials improperly granted forest-crossing permits to developers of the Atlantic Coast pipeline, a panel of appellate court judges found today.

The Forest Service violated the National Forest Management Act and the National Environmental Policy Act when it authorized construction of the 600-mile natural gas pipeline through two national forests and across parts of the Appalachian Trail, Judge Stephanie Thacker for the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote in a 60-page opinion issued this morning.

'Despite the Forest Service's clearly stated concerns regarding the adverse impacts of the [Atlantic Coast pipeline] project, as Atlantic's deadlines for the agency's decisions drew closer, its tenor began to change,' she wrote."

Pamela King reports for Greenwire December 13, 2018. [2]