The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) and Appalachian Mountain Advocates (Appalmad), on behalf of their client conservation and environmental groups, asked the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to halt construction by Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) developers until it decides whether the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) permit is valid. The March 8 petition explains the issue to be resolved:
The Natural Gas Act requires FERC to rule on rehearing requests within thirty days, but FERC indefinitely postponed a ruling on Petitioner’s Rehearing Request for the ACP. In the meantime, pipeline construction has begun and will irreparably harm Petitioners’ property and environmental interests. Can this Court issue a writ pursuant to the All Writs Act staying construction of the ACP to preserve the status quo and its prospective jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act?
The client organizations associated with the lawsuits are Appalachian Voices, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Cowpasture River Preservation Association, Friends of Buckingham, Highlanders for Responsible Development, Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, Shenandoah Valley Network, Sierra Club, Sound Rivers, Inc., Virginia Wilderness Committee, Wild Virginia and Winyah Rivers Foundation.