The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 26 vacated a permit granted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for Dominion Energy to construct the Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline in areas inhabited by threatened or endangered species. The court found that the agency “fast-tracked” its decision and appears to have lost sight of its mandate under the Endangered Species Act.

The court noted that it cannot be ignored that the agency reissued a permit in 2018 a mere 19 days after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission resumed formal consultation with the agency following the court’s decision to stay a previous version of the permit. Dominion halted construction of the long-delayed project last December after the court invalidated the Fish and Wildlife permit.

The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a proposed 600-mile pipeline designed to transport natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina. The project is a joint proposal by Dominion Energy, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, and Southern Company Gas.