U.S. Supreme Court leans toward $7.5 billion pipeline in trail dispute

A majority of the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday seemed inclined to find that the federal government had the authority to grant a right of way for a proposed $7.5 billion natural gas pipeline to cross under the popular Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.

The nine justices heard a one-hour argument in appeals brought by Dominion Energy Inc and President Donald Trump's administration of a lower court ruling that halted construction of the 600-mile (965-km) Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run from West Virginia to North Carolina. Questions asked by several justices suggested the court will overturn the Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found in its 2018 decision that the U.S. Forest Service lacked the authority to grant a right of way for the pipeline. A ruling is due by the end of June.