Anti-Fracking Activists Celebrate Ruling Against Major Pipeline

Environmentalists are celebrating a federal appeals court ruling on Friday that reaffirmed New York State’s decision to block a 124-mile natural gas pipeline project.

“Today’s ruling confirms the independent authority and responsibility of states to protect their waterbodies from natural gas pipelines that carve through and degrade critical watersheds.”
—Moneen Nasmith, Earthjustice

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“This project would have been bad news for New York waters and communities, and the court’s decision will help ensure that important waterways in the state, including the Hudson River and Schoharie Creek, will be protected,” said Riverkeeper president Paul Gallay.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) had the authority to deny a Clean Water Act permit to four companies planning to construct the Constitution Pipeline, which would have carried fracked gas from Pennsylvania to Eastern New York State. 

The pipeline—which would have crossed waterways 251 times and run through more than 80 acres of wetlands—received initial approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the federal agency that regulates interstates pipeline projects. However, it was blocked by NYSDEC last year, when the state agency determined the gas companies had not provided enough information to ensure that the pipeline would comply with state water quality standards.

The companies argued in court that FERC’s approval preempted any state-level decision, but the court’s three-judge panel determined “NYSDEC is responsible for evaluating the environmental impacts of a proposed pipeline on New York waterbodies in light of the state’s water quality standards,” and upheld the agency’s decision to prevent the pipeline.

“The collective efforts of individuals and local, regional, and national groups—including terrific legal representation by Earthjustice—prevented the pipeline from plowing through our communities and damaging our waterways,” said Wes Gillingham of Catskill Mountainkeeper, which along with Earthjustice, Riverkeeper, and Sierra Club, helped to defend NYSDEC’s decision in court.