Pipeline Backers Optimistic After Supreme Court Hearing (1)

The Atlantic Coast pipeline appears likely to clear a major legal hurdle after a majority of Supreme Court justices seemed to lean in favor of allowing the project to cross the Appalachian Trail.

The high court heard oral arguments Monday in the high-stakes debate over the $8 billion natural gas project, which is planned to pass beneath part of the iconic trail in the George Washington National Forest in central Virginia.

Chief Justice John Roberts embraced Atlantic Coast’s key argument toward the end of the hour-long courtroom debate when he concluded the 2,200-mile trail “really does erect an impermeable barrier” ...