[9] The Atlantic Coast Pipeline originated in September 2013 when the Obama administration granted a request from Dominion Transmission to export gas to Japan and India.

[20] An anti-pipeline group, "All Pain No Gain," raised money to run radio and television advertising in opposition of the pipeline, and dozens of landowners attempted to block surveyors from their property, though the pipeline's developers filed lawsuits against them,[20] and Virginia law permits surveying on private property, as well as the use of eminent domain in construction.

[9] An official at Dominion Energy, said that the pipeline route had been adjusted 300 times, for a total of 250 miles (400 km) of rerouting, since its original draft in order to accommodate "environmentally sensitive areas" and other concerns.

[21] Critics note that the proposed route disproportionately impacts Native Americans, including members of the Meherrin, Haliwa-Saponi, Coharie, and Lumbee Tribes of North Carolina.

[23][24][25][26] The National Congress of American Indians also issued a formal resolution calling for permitting activities to cease until regulators engage in meaningful consultation with the Haliwa-Saponi and other tribes living along the proposed route.

[27] Overall, approximately 30,000 Native Americans live in census tracts located within one mile of the proposed route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of these groups on several grounds, including that the Trail was a national park and outside the USFS' jurisdiction.

The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which found in United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Assn.

[34][33][35] The utilities plan to leave the installed pipe in place and keep the easement agreements they had purchased from landowners along the pipeline route, including those secured through eminent domain.