Environmental groups opposing the Bayou Bridge Pipeline today say they have sued to force the company behind the project to turn over records related to eminent domain along the pipeline’s 162-mile route.
The groups, including the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper and 350 New Orleans, are suing Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC—a joint venture formed between Energy Transfer Partners and Phillips 66—in the 19th Judicial District Court.
They say the company claims to have authority under state law to expropriate private property along the pipeline route. Energy Transfer Partners did not directly address the lawsuit in a statement issued to Daily Report.
“As with any infrastructure project, we respect that there are a wide range of opinions. Pipelines, like Bayou Bridge, are heavily regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation for both safety and reliability, and have proven to be the safest, most efficient means of transporting energy resources,” the statement says. “This project has been in development since 2015 and has been carefully vetted by all applicable regulatory agencies and local governments along its route.”
The New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights is representing the environmental groups.
“Eminent domain is an extraordinary and controversial power, and those most often burdened frequently lack the financial means and political clout to protect their rights in the process,” CCR senior staff attorney Pamela Spees says in a statement. “This authority is all the more dangerous and troubling when it is placed in the hands of a powerful corporation that claims it should not be subjected to the same transparency requirements as state agencies exercising that authority.”
The lawsuit follows an initial public record request submitted to the company on Dec. 6, a news release says. Lawyers for Bayou Bridge Pipeline LLC argue they do not believe that the company is subject to public records laws, the groups say in a news release.
Environmental groups last week filed a federal lawsuit to block the pipeline, which has received its final permits and is slated to start construction soon. The pipeline would extend from Lake Charles to St. James Parish.
