Court tosses construction permits for Atlantic Coast Pipeline

A federal appeals court on Monday threw out construction certificates for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, likely halting work on the $6 billion project planned by major Southeastern utilities. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the project last year, but the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that certification was based on a faulty right-of-way permit awarded by the National Park Service for where the pipeline would cross the Blue Ridge Parkway, a road in Virginia that is part of the National Park system. Continued construction of the line would "violate FERC's certificate of public convenience and necessity," the court warned, and environmental groups pushed FERC to issue a stop-work order for the entire line, as it did last week for the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Developers said they would push NPS to "promptly reissue the permit" to cross the Parkway.