Tell your Senators: Don’t greenlight Duke and Dominion Energy’s disastrous Atlantic Coast Pipeline!

New fossil fuel projects like this pipeline are the last thing our environment needs. And local communities in Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina have been speaking out to say that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline is completely unnecessary.

When the pipeline lost in court last week, the energy industry began looking for a work-around immediately. Since the Forest Service improperly granted right-of-way in the first place, Dominion’s plan is to force through the pipeline's approval where it has political friends -- i.e. in Congress. It could use a rider to the federal spending bill THIS WEEK. We can’t let that happen.

Dear Senator,

I ask that any year-end legislation be devoid of any harmful policy riders, including but not limited to provisions that would give federal agencies carte blanche to allow pipeline crossings on lands that are part of the National Park System -- and specifically the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

Our National Park System is an integral and beloved part of American public lands. In particular, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and Blue Ridge Parkway are valued by many both in the East and across the country as exceptional places that deserve the highest level of protection. Indeed, the legislation establishing the Appalachian Trail recognizes the purpose of the trail as providing for outdoor recreation and preservation, enjoyment, and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the United States.

On December 13, the Fourth Circuit recognized the importance of preserving these special places and underscored Congress’s intent in excluding National Park System lands from the Mineral Leasing Act in Cowpasture River Preservation Ass’n v. U.S. Forest Serv. That case involves the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a proposed gas pipeline that is the subject of serious questions around whether the need for the project has been adequately demonstrated, and its cost impact on customers. In issuing its decision, the Court upheld the importance of provisions in the Mineral Leasing Act that preserve America’s National Parks as cherished, protected places that cannot be easily degraded with gas pipeline crossings. The Court’s decision does not affect the rights of private or state landowners whose property is crossed by the Appalachian Trail.

The Fourth Circuit decision in Cowpasture River Preservation Ass’n v. U.S. Forest Serv. affirmed Congressional intent that federal agencies cannot authorize crossings of the Appalachian Trail, which is part of the National Park system, on federal lands.

Please do not use must-pass legislation in the waning days of the 115th Congress to undo the important guardrails Congress established in order to protect America’s great natural places.

Thank you,

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