Description: Challenge to Clean Water Act permits for natural gas interstate pipeline project.
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Delaware Riverkeeper Network v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Case Documents:
Filing Date Type File Action Taken Summary 08/23/2017 Opinion Download Petition for review denied. Third Circuit Upheld Federal Permit for Gas Pipeline Project. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Clean Water Act permit issued for an interstate gas pipeline project by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The court found that the Corps had considered a "compression alternative" that would have increased the amount of gas transported through existing pipelines and had rejected it for reasons supported by the record. The compression alternative would have required construction of one or more permanent fixtures, "causing permanent deforestation as well as light, air, sound, and greenhouse gas pollution. The Third Circuit stated: "In making a policy choice between those environmental tradeoffs, the agency’s discretion was at its apex. We will therefore deny the petition for review."