NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO • June 15, 2020
The Supreme Court ruled Monday in favor of a pipeline company in a dispute about whether a new 600-mile natural gas pipeline could cross underneath the Appalachian Trail on federal land. The 7-2 decision overturned one part of a lower court decision that had blocked construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run through the George Washington National Forest from West Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina. Environmental groups had argued that the Forest Service didn't have the authority to issue the permit because the Appalachian Trail is a "unit" of the National Park System.