On December 6, 2018, Atlantic Coast Pipeline filed a lawsuit against the Nelson County Board of Supervisors in the Western District of Virginia’s federal court. On December 3, 2018, the Nelson County Board of Zoning Appeals denied Dominion’s request for variances to the County’s floodplain ordinance which would have allowed ACP construction across four Nelson County wetlands. The ACP suit is in response to the Board of Zoning Appeal’s denial.

The suit asks the Court to:

• enter judgement declaring that Nelson’s zoning ordinance and floodplain regulations are preempted by federal regulations and therefore null and void as applied to the ACP
• enter an injunction enjoining Nelson County from enforcing any of its zoning ordinances and floodplain regulations that may affect ACP construction

The ACP has no federal permit to cross any waterbodies, including wetlands and floodplains, and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals has vacated three other critical federal permits. It is, therefore, questionable what standing ACP has to file suit.

Read the full ACP complaint here.

Read CBS19 news coverage here.

Fuller coverage in the Lynchburg News & Advance.