"The legal and environmental troubles that helped doom the Atlantic Coast pipeline project have roots in the Trump administration's attempts to speed it up.
Directly, the challenges to the now-cancelled natural gas transmission pipeline resulted from a concerted legal effort by environmental groups and local opponents to stop the project, and judges who gave them a sympathetic ear.
But many of the problems cited by the judges who stalled construction were first raised by federal scientists and land managers, according to court records and correspondence obtained through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Those career officials were often overruled when higher-ups in the Trump administration agreed to accelerate the approval process.
The orders to speed things up came after a lobbying scramble by the lead developer of the project, Dominion Energy Inc."
Mike Soraghan reports for E&E News July 7, 2020.
SEE ALSO:
"Legal and Environmental Setbacks Stymie Pipelines Nationwide" (New York Times)
"Judge Declines To Reverse Dakota Access Pipeline Shutdown" (The Hill)
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