Dominion’s 564-mile Atlantic Coast pipeline would come through this farm just west of Staunton, Va. (Norm Shafer/For The Washington Post)

RICHMOND — The Supreme Court of Virginia ruled Thursday on two cases related to the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline, handing opponents a minor victory but otherwise leaving the huge project unscathed.

The court found in favor of a small group of landowners in Buckingham County who said pipeline surveyors had not provided adequate notice before entering their property. Survey crews have since changed their practice, though, to give more specific information about timing.

The other case was potentially far more sweeping, as a landowner challenged whether an out-of-state utility has the right to enter property for surveys or to seize property under eminent domain.

[A dilemma of development vs. the prospect of losing peace and quiet]

Although the natural gas pipeline project is largely controlled by Richmond-based Dominion Energy, the partnership that is building it is registered in Delaware. The court ruled that state law permits the survey work but said the plaintiffs had waited too late in the legal process to raise the issue of eminent domain, or property seizure.

The Washington Post – Gregory S. Schneider – 07/13/2014