Tuesday, September 18, 2018

Atlantic Coast pipeline construction allowed to resume

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has allowed construction on the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline to resume Monday, a month after a federal court revoked some of the project's permits.

"In early August, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Fish and Wildlife Service needed to revisit a key endangered species permit," Brittany Patterson reports for West Virginia Public Broadcasting. "It also ruled the National Park Service needed to reissue a right-of-way approval to allow the pipeline to pass under the Blue Ridge Parkway."

On Sept. 17, FERC sent a letter to pipeline officials saying construction could continue since both permits had been received. Environmental groups, which have repeatedly challenged the pipeline in court, are not happy. D.J. Gerken with the Southern Environmental Law Center said in a statement: "Rather than taking the time to address the major problems we have seen in federal agencies' reviews of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, these agencies continue to rush through a rubberstamp process that ignores legal requirements – not to mention the public interest."

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