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1 1 (June 26, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govdxyz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Resarh $evice Supreme Court Visits Appalachian Trail to Address Pipeline Permitting Dispute June 26, 2020 A proposed interstate natural gas pipeline in the mid-Atlantic is one step closer to reality after obtaining one of the federal permits needed for construction and operation, thanks to a decision last week from the U.S. Supreme Court. In U S. Forest Service v. Cotpastum River Piservation Association, the Court tackled a complex web of federal legislation and regulations that ultimately boiled down to a simple question: who has the authority to issue a permit for an infrastructure project to cross the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (Appalachian Trail or Trail)? The Court found that the U.S. Forest Service (FS) had acted properly when it issued a special use permit for the construction and operation of a subsurface pipeline segment passing under the Trail. The Court reversed a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which had held that the FS lacked statutory authority to issue the permit. The decision involves the Atlantic Coast Pipeline-a proposed 604 mile natural gas pipeline that would run from West Virginia though Virginia to Robeson County, NC, near the South Carolina border. The developers obtained their Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2017 for the overall project. However, as is often the case, the pipeline's developers also needed authorizations from other federal and state agencies for various segments and characteristics of the project. Among these was permission to construct and operate a segment of the pipeline that runs approximately 600 feet below the Appalachian Trail that is within the George Washington National Forest. The litigation focused on how and fromwhomto obtain permission for construction and operation of that segment of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline project. In order to discern the answer, the courts had to evaluate a morass of public land use statutes. The Fourth Circuit determined that the Trail was part of the National Park System. As a result, the court held that the FS lacks authority to grant the right-of-way because the relevant text of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (MLA) explicitly excludes lands of the National Park System from the definition of federal lands through which FS may grant a right-of-way. The Supreme Court disagreed, and reversed the lower court. In a 7-2 opinion authored by Justice Thomas, the Court evaluated what it referred to as the interaction of multiple federal laws. The Court first evaluated the Weeks Act of 1911, which provides for acquisition of lands to form the National Forest System under the administration of FS pursuant to delegated authority from the Secretary of Agriculture. Exercising its Weeks Act authority, FS established the George Washington National Forest in 1932. Congress later established the Appalachian Trail through the passage of the National Trails System Act Congressional ResearchService https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10503 CRS Lega Sidebar Prepared for Membersand C o m m i teeso f C o ng ress ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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