On May 28, 2020, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the request by the Army Corps of Engineers, Transcanada Keystone Pipeline, and other pipeline companies to reinstate Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP12). This means NWP 12 will remain invalid while the Ninth Circuit considers whether the Montana district court correctly ruled that the Corps violated the Endangered Species Act.

The District Court’s April 15 ruling came in a case challenging the NWP12 permit for the Keystone project and was extended to affect permits for other new oil and natural gas pipelines. The ruling impacts the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines, neither of which currently have valid NWP12 permits. At this point, the Corps cannot authorize either the MVP or the ACP to use NWP12 unless and until the Ninth Circuit reverses the Montana district court’s determination that the Corps violated the Endangered Species Act.