A recent federal appellate court decision in New Jersey could have implications for pipeline development in Louisiana, according to a Baton Rouge pipeline defense attorney.
Writing for the Louisiana Law Blog, Kean Miller attorney Pam Mascari outlined a recent Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision that found pipeline companies may not exercise their powers of eminent domain granted under the federal Natural Gas Act in federal courts when seeking to acquire state-owned lands.
In the matter of PennEast Pipeline Company LLC, the appellate court ruled in favor of New Jersey, finding that its sovereign immunity under the 11th Amendment prohibited PennEast Pipeline from condemning property owned by the state of New Jersey.
“Due to the vast acreage of state-owned water bottoms in Louisiana,” Mascari writes, “this decision portends potentially significant changes in pipeline development within the state.”
In their ruling, the justices acknowledged the decision “may disrupt how the natural gas industry, which has used the NGA to construct interstate pipelines over State-owned land for the past 80 years, operates.” But they noted that interstate gas pipelines can still proceed, with an “accountable federal official”—rather than a private pipeline company—filing the necessary condemnation actions and then transferring the property to the natural gas company.
Read the Louisiana Law Blog blog post.
