Attorney General Ken Paxton today announced that his office joined a coalition of 18 states urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked construction on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, impeding the nation’s economic growth.
The coalition’s friend-of-the-court brief argues that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit incorrectly ruled the U.S. Forest Service lacked authority to grant the Atlantic Coast Pipeline rights-of-way through forestland beneath federal trails.
“This pipeline is important for creating jobs and the effective transportation of natural gas, and impeding this pipeline’s development shows a disregard for both.” Attorney General Paxton said. “We must take a stand to protect hardworking Americans, continue to boost our growing economy, and preserve the security of our national power grid.”
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline will transport natural gas through five West Virginia counties
en route to Virginia and North Carolina. The halting of the pipeline construction has already cost jobs and lost revenue.
In addition to Texas, the West Virginia-led brief received support from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.
To read a copy of the coalition’s brief, click here.