Federal court ruling threatens major US gas pipeline project
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 in favor of a climate-related challenge brought by the Sierra Club against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on August 22.
Under question is the Southeast Market Pipelines Project, which centers on the 500-mi Sabal Trail Pipeline that runs through Alabama, Georgia and Florida.
The Southeast Market project would move natural gas from the Marcellus shale play to previously unsupplied markets.
Under the court challenge, the Sierra Club is asking the FERC to more accurately quantify greenhouse gas emissions for pipelines delivering gas to power plants.
During oral discussions in April, FERC attorney Ross Fulton said the agency had concluded that the Southeast Market project "…would not significantly contribute to cumulative greenhouse gas impacts because power plants receiving natural gas from the pipelines were switching from coal, which emits more carbon dioxide."
FERC could appeal the ruling, but it is more likely that the agency will instead expand its environmental reviews for the project.
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