In October 2014, Atlantic and Dominion were granted approval for pre-filing review of the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline project by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). FERC reviews applications for construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act. In February 2015, FERC published a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and requested public comments. CBF along with other organizations filed comments and motions to intervene to protest the proposed pipeline project. In September of 2015, Atlantic and Dominion filed applications with FERC for certificates of public convenience and necessity. This certificate is required for the construction or expansion of natural gas facilities used for the sale or transportation of natural gas and must be issued by FERC, along with the EIS.

Despite the significant environmental impacts associated with the proposed pipeline, FERC issued the final EIS on July 21, 2017 and issued an Order granting the certificate of public convenience and necessity on October 13, 2017 without considering relevant evidence in the record.

On November 13, 2017, CBF and our partners filed a Petition with FERC requesting a rehearing and a stay of the Certificate’s Order, which would pause pipeline construction while the review was being completed. However, rather than ruling on the rehearing request, FERC indefinitely postponed a ruling without issuing a stay while construction of the pipeline was underway. This allowed construction to proceed even though a request for reconsideration was pending. As a result, in March of 2018, CBF and our partners filed a Petition with the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals asking the Court to stay construction of the Pipeline until FERC issued a final Order on the November 13th rehearing request. The 4th Circuit Dismissed the Petition for lack of jurisdiction and in August of 2018 FERC denied our rehearing request.

After FERC denied the rehearing request, CBF and our NGO partners filed a Petition for Review with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit requesting the Certificates Order be vacated. Our case was transferred to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and consolidated with an appeal filed by ACP related to FERC’s Certificates Order on construction funding. Briefing was completed and the oral arguments scheduled for October 16, 2019 were removed from the court docket and the case held in abeyance until the United States Supreme Court ruled on a separate matter regarding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and a special use permit authorizing the construction of the pipeline through parts of the Appalachian Trail and George Washington and Monongahela National Forests, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, et. al. v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association. In June of 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of ACP in this case overturning the 4th Circuit decision vacating the permit issued by the U.S. Forest Service.

On July 23, 2021, FERC made available for public comment a draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed restoration project. On September 13, CBF joined our NGO partners and filed comments on this restoration plan urging FERC to make revisions and address shortcoming, including how tree removal will occur around wetlands and waterbodies. This case was voluntarily dismissed on November 18, 2022 as the restoration activities for the pipeline have been approved by FERC.