In yet another setback for the Constitution Pipeline a federal court in New York has dismissed its sponsors’ lawsuit challenging state permitting requirements.
Constitution submitted a joint application to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) in August 2013 for a section 401 Water Quality Certification and other permits. Three years later, the agency denied the water quality certification and has yet to rule on other permits for the project.
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York ruled last week that the pipeline’s sponsors have no standing to sue because they failed to prove how pending state permits would harm the project and only alleged the possibility of future injury if they aren’t received.
“NYSDEC has not denied the permits or refused to issue them,” wrote Judge Norman Mordue in his order granting NYSDEC’s motion to dismiss the case. “It simply has not yet acted to grant or deny them. The fact that NYSDEC has not yet acted on the permits does not inflict actual injury on Constitution, because the pipeline project cannot go forward without the [water quality certification] that NYSDEC has denied.
By NGI’s Shale Daily | Jamison Cocklin | Mar 20, 2017
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