United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association
Issues
Does the Appalachian Trail constitute National Park land, such that only Congress may grant a pipeline right-of-way underneath it?
These two consolidated cases ask the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether the Mineral Leasing Act authorizes the United States Forest Service to grant a right-of-way under the national trail system. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held that the Forest Service lacks authority to grant a right-of-way for a natural gas pipeline under the Appalachian Trail, which is administered by the National Park Service. The Forest Service and Atlantic Coast Pipeline, the respective Petitioners in each case, contend that the Forest Service has authority under the Mineral Leasing Act to grant a right-of-way under any trail that crosses through national forest land owned by the Forest Service. The Respondents, Cowpasture River Preservation Association et al., counter that the Appalachian Trail is National Park land and, accordingly, only Congress—not the Forest Service—may grant a right-of-way. The Court’s decision in these cases will influence future pipeline development, environmental preservation, and the economies of communities along the Appalachian Trail.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether the United States Forest Service has the authority to grant rights-of-way under the Mineral Leasing Act through lands traversed by the Appalachian Trail within national forests.
On September 18, 2015, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (“Atlantic”) applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to own, operate, and construct the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (“ACP” or “the pipeline”). Cowpasture River Preservation Ass’n et al. v. U.S.
Edited by
Additional Resources
- Noah Sachs, Can the Appalachian Trail Block a Natural Gas Pipeline?, The American Prospect (Aug. 14, 2019).
- Greg Stohr and Ellen M. Gilmer, Dominion’s Atlantic Coast Pipeline Gets Supreme Court Hearing, Bloomberg Law (Oct. 4, 2019).
- Michael Martz, Supreme Court Showdown Set Over Pipeline Crossing of Appalachian Trail, Richmond Times-Dispatch (Oct. 4, 2019).