Developers cancel long-delayed $8B multistate pipeline

RICHMOND, VA. >> The developers of the long-delayed $8 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline announced the cancellation of the multistate natural gas project Sunday, citing uncertainties about costs, permitting and litigation.

Despite a victory last month at the U.S. Supreme Court over a critical permit, Dominion Energy and Duke Energy said in a news release that “recent developments have created an unacceptable layer of uncertainty and anticipated delays” for the 600-mile project designed to cross West Virginia and Virginia into North Carolina.

The companies said a recent pair of court rulings that have thrown into question a permitting program used around the nation to approve oil and gas pipelines and other utility work through wetlands and streams presented “new and serious challenges.”

“This new information and litigation risk, among other continuing execution risks, make the project too uncertain to justify investing more shareholder capital,” the news release said.

The massive infrastructure project, announced with much fanfare in 2014, had drawn fierce opposition from many landowners, activists and environmental advocates, who said it would damage pristine landscapes and harm wildlife.

Getting the project built would have involved tree removal and blasting and leveling some ridgetops as the pipe, 42 inches in diameter for much of its path, crossed mountains, water bodies and burrowed underneath the Appalachian Trail.

Opponents also questioned whether there was sufficient need for the gas it would carry and said it would further encourage the use of a fossil fuel at a time when climate change makes a shift to renewable energy imperative.

Legal challenges brought by environmental groups prompted the dismissal or suspension of numerous permits and led to an extended delay in construction.

The project was years behind schedule and the anticipated cost had ballooned from the original estimate of $4.5 billion to $5 billion.

Reaction poured in Sunday from the project’s opponents, who lauded the demise of the project.