Court finds FWS approval inadequate for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

May 16, 2018
A federal appeals court in Richmond found the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s authorization for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline was inadequate and vacated the agency’s incidental take authorization statement. Environmental organizations and the project’s sponsor disagreed over whether the May 15 decision would bring a halt to the pipeline’s construction.

A federal appeals court in Richmond found the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s authorization for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline was inadequate and vacated the agency’s incidental take authorization statement. Environmental organizations and the project’s sponsor disagreed over whether the May 15 decision would bring a halt to the pipeline’s construction.

“We conclude, for reasons to be more fully explained in a forthcoming opinion, that the limits set by the agency are so indeterminate that they undermine the incidental take statement’s enforcement and monitoring function under the Endangered Species Act,” three US Fourth Circuit of Appeals judges said in their joint decision.

“We reserve judgment on the parties’ remaining disputes until our forthcoming opinion,” Chief Judge Roger L. Gregory and Judges Stephanie D. Thacker and James A. Wynn Jr. added.

FWS is looking at the decision and considering subsequent steps, a spokesman told OGJ on May 16.

Environmental organizations, which legally challenged the ITA statement, said on May 15 that the court’s decision means any and all construction activity on the 600-mile natural gas underground pipeline from West Virginia through Virginia to North Carolina stop immediately.

A spokeswoman for Richmond-based Dominion Resources, the project’s main sponsor, said on May 16 that Dominion remains confident in the project and expects it to continue moving forward with construction as scheduled.

“This decision only impacts activities directly covered by the incidental take statement in certain defined areas along the route. We will fully comply as required while we continue to construct the project,” Dominion Energy Communications Director Jen Kostyniuk told OGJ in a May 16 e-mail.

“Although we disagree with the outcome of the court’s decision, and are evaluating our options, we are committed to working with the agency to address the concerns raised by the court's order,” she said.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].