"The Supreme Court today agreed to take up a heated dispute over a natural gas pipeline's crossing of the Appalachian Trail.

Developers of the Atlantic Coast pipeline this summer fought a 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that found the Forest Service could not authorize the project to run hundreds of feet below the trail.

The justices only accept a small fraction of petitions that make their way to the court, but a companion plea from Solicitor General Noel Francisco elevated the chances that the case would make it to arguments (Energywire, Sept. 30).

Dominion Energy Inc., a joint owner of the $7.5 billion pipeline with Duke Energy Corp. and Southern Co., lauded the Supreme Court's decision to take the case, calling it a 'very encouraging sign.'"

Niina H. Farah reports for Greenwire October 4, 2019. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"Big Environmental Term for Supreme Court? Too Soon to Tell" (Bloomberg Environment) [3]