Syllabus

NOTE: Where it is feasible, a syllabus (headnote) will be released, as is being done in connection with this case, at the time the opinion is issued. The syllabus constitutes no part of the opinion of the Court but has been prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader. See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200U.S.321, 337.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Syllabus

UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE ET AL. v. COWPASTURE RIVER PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION ET AL. CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 18–1584. Argued February 24, 2020—Decided June 15, 2020* Petitioner Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (Atlantic), sought to construct an approximately 604-mile natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina along a route that traversed 16 miles of land within the George Washington National Forest. As relevant here, Atlantic secured a special use permit from the United States Forest Service, obtaining a right-of-way for a 0.1-mile segment of pipe some 600 feet below a portion of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (Appalachian Trail or Trail), which also crosses the National Forest. Respondents filed a petition for review in the Fourth Circuit, contending, inter alia, that the issuance of the special use permit for the right-of-way under the Trail violated the Mineral Leasing Act (Leasing Act). Atlantic in- tervened. The Fourth Circuit vacated the permit, holding that the Leasing Act did not empower the Forest Service to grant the right-of- way because the Trail became part of the National Park System when the Secretary of the Interior delegated its authority over the Trail’s administration to the National Park Service, and that the Leasing Act prohibits pipeline rights-of-way through lands in the National Park System. Held: Because the Department of the Interior’s decision to assign respon- sibility over the Appalachian Trail to the National Park Service did not transform the land over which the Trail passes into land within —————— * Together with No. 18–1587, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC v. Cowpas- ture River Preservation Association et al., also on certiorari to the same court. 2 UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE v. COWPASTURE RIVER PRESERVATION ASSN. Syllabus

the National Park System, the Forest Service had the authority to is- sue the special use permit. Pp. 3–18. (a) These cases involve the interaction of multiple federal laws. The Weeks Act provided for the acquisition of lands for inclusion in the Na- tional Forest System, stating that such lands “shall be permanently reserved, held, and administered as national forest lands.” 16 U.S. C. §521. The Forest Service, with authority granted by the Secretary of Agriculture, has jurisdiction over the National Forest System, includ- ing the George Washington National Forest. The National Trails Sys- tem Act (Trails Act) establishes national scenic and national historic trails, 16 U.S. C. §1244(a), including the Appalachian Trail, §1244(a)(1). It also empowers the Secretary of the Interior to establish the Trail’s location and width by entering into “rights-of-way” agree- ments with other federal agencies, States, local governments, and pri- vate landowners. §§1246(a)(2), (d), (e). The Leasing Act enables any “appropriate agency head” to grant “[r]ights-of-way through any Fed- eral lands . . . for pipeline purposes,” 30 U.S. C. §185(a), defining “Fed- eral lands” as “all lands owned by the United States,” except (as rele- vant) lands in the National Park System, §185(b). The National Park System is, in turn, defined as “any area of land and water now and hereafter administered b