The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and a Dominion Energy subsidiary were chastised by a unanimous appellate court for asking that a line of transmission towers in the James River be allowed to remain even though the Corps was found to have violated the National Environmental Policy Act by letting the nearly 300-foot-tall towers be put in place without first conducting an environmental impact study.

A former top National Park Service official implicated more than a decade ago for improperly paving the way for the owner of the Washington Redskins to cut down trees on a 2-acre scenic easement along the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park is expected to become the agency's next acting director, possibly as soon as next week, National Parks Traveler has learned.

The National Parks Conservation Association, claiming that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers failed to conduct due diligence in reviewing a permit application to string power lines along 300-foot tall towers through the James River near Historic Jamestowne has sued the agency in federal court.

A 7-mile-long string of electrical transmission towers that would march across the James River within sight of historic Jamestowne and Colonial National Historical Park would cause "severe and unacceptable damage to this historically important area and the irreplaceable and iconic resources within it," according to former National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis.