× Thanks for reading! Log in to continue. Enjoy more articles by logging in or creating a free account. No credit card required. Log in Sign up {{featured_button_text}}

The U.S. Forest Service has rejected the latest proposed route of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline because of the 42-inch natural gas pipeline’s potential damage to the habitat of sensitive animal species protected by two national forests in Virginia and West Virginia.

In a letter to the Dominion-led pipeline company on Tuesday, the Forest Service said the proposed route is “inconsistent” with Forest Service plans and commitments to protect the habitats of the Cow Knob salamander, Cheat Mountain salamander and West Virginia northern flying squirrel, as well as the red spruce forest ecosystem in which they live.

Consequently, the pipeline project does not meet the agency’s minimum requirements for a special use permit to cross the George Washington and Monongahela national forests, said Kathleen Atkinson, regional forester for the Eastern Region, and Tony Tocke, regional forester for the Southern Region. “Therefore, alternatives must be developed to facilitate further processing of the application.”

“Alternatives must avoid the Cheat Mountain and Cow Knob salamanders and their habitats, the West Virginia northern flying squirrel, and spruce ecosystem restoration areas,” they said in the letter, filed Thursday at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is reviewing the application for the proposed 550-mile natural gas pipeline.