From Allegheny-Blue Ridge Alliance’s ABRA Update #255 for December 5, 2019:

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced that the appeal of the case vacating the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s (ACP) permit from the U.S. Forest Service to build across Forest Service land is scheduled for oral argument on Monday, February 24, 2020 at 10 am. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the permit in a December 18, 2018 decision on the grounds that the Forest Service 1) was negligent in its analysis of environmental impacts on Forest lands, and 2) did not have the legal authority to grant permission for the project to cross the Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

The appellants in the case – Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC and the U.S. Forest Service – filed their briefs with the Court on December 2. Amicus briefs in support of the appellants are due to be filed by December 9.

The respondents in the case, all members of ABRA, are Cowpasture River Preservation Association, Highlands for Responsible Development, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, Shenandoah Valley Network, Sierra Club, Virginia Wilderness Committee and Wild Virginia. Their brief must be filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) by January 15, 2020. Amicus briefs in support of the respondents’ position are due January 22.

For a copy of the brief filed by ACP, LLC, click here. For the Forest Service brief, click here.