Dominion pipeline permit heads to court

Bloomberg

The fate of Dominion Energy Inc’s planned $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline was expected to be tested on Monday, as the US Supreme Court hears arguments on a crucial permit that would let the natural-gas line cross under the Appalachian Trail.
Dominion and President Donald Trump’s administration are asking the high court to jump-start the long-delayed project after a federal appeals court threw out the permit issued by the US Forest Service.
The case combines legal issues about federal agency jurisdiction with big stakes for the natural-gas industry and the environment. The court’s ruling, due by June, could have far-reaching implications for pipelines seeking to cross the Appalachian Trail, which stretches from Maine to Georgia.
A ruling in Dominion’s favour would eliminate the biggest obstacle to 965 kilometre pipeline, which would carry as much as 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day from the Marcellus shale basin in West Virginia to customers in North Carolina and Virginia.
Dominion, which is developing the pipeline with Duke Energy Corp, says it expects to begin construction by mid-year and complete it by the end of 2021.
That, however, presumes a victory at the Supreme Court and successful resolution of other issues, including a pending review of the impact on endangered species.
“The Supreme Court case is critical for the project, but it’s not a silver bullet for construction across the Appalachian Trail,” said Brandon Barnes, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.
The case will also affect EQM Midstream Partners LP’s Mountain Valley gas pipeline from West Virginia to Virginia. Mountain Valley told the Supreme Court in December that the appeals court ruling forced a halt to its project, which is 90% complete at a cost of more than $4.3 billion.
The 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals said the Forest Service lacked authority to issue the Atlantic Coast permit because the Appalachian Trail is controlled by the National Park Service.
The US Mineral Leasing Act says the Forest Service doesn’t have jurisdiction over “lands in the National Park System.”
Dominion and the Trump administration contend that while the National Park Service manages the Appalachian Trail, the underlying land is part of a national forest — putting it within the Forest Service’s jurisdiction.
Atlantic Coast says more than 50 pipelines already cross the trail, some of them on Forest Service land.