Environmental -- 2020



Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC v. Cowpasture River Preservation Ass'n   (U.S. Supreme Court)

Unreasonable pipeline permitting restrictions

The NAM filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for certiorari seeking U.S. Supreme Court review and reversal of a 4th Circuit holding that invalidated a federal permit for a major natural gas transmission pipeline that crosses U.S. Forest Service lands. An environmental group sued the U.S. Forest Service to invalidate its permit allowing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline to cross beneath the Appalachian Trail hiking route. A panel of the Fourth Circuit held that the Mineral Leasing Act does not allow agencies to grant rights-of-way for pipelines to cross any stretch of the Appalachian Trail; rather, such approvals must come from a majority vote of the U.S. congress. This holding effectively converts the Appalachian Trail into a 2,200-mile barrier to pipeline construction from Maine to Georgia. The court’s reasoning could also be applied to any one of the dozens of pipelines that currently cross beneath the trail because such pipelines require periodic permit renewals. In support of the pipeline’s petition for Supreme Court review, the NAM filed an amicus brief that explained the legal flaws in the panel’s reasoning and highlighted the important benefits that pipelines provide for manufacturers and the national economy. On October 4, 2019, the court granted review for the 2019-2020 term, and on December 9, 2019, the NAM filed a coalition amicus brief on the merits in support of the pipeline. On June 15, 2020, the Court agreed, reversing the Fourth Circuit and upholding the longstanding precedent allowing infrastructure crossings of the Appalachian Trail.


Related Documents:
NAM brief  (December 9, 2019)
NAM brief  (July 26, 2019)