Judge reaffirms decision to halt Keystone XL, others under nationwide permit programme
A federal judge in Montana has reaffirmed his decision to block construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and any other oil or natural gas pipeline project seeking approval for new construction under a streamlined nationwide permitting system for infrastructure anywhere in the country.
Judge Brian Morris of the US District Court for the District of Montana narrowed his decision on the 11th May to apply only to construction of new oil and gas pipelines under Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12).
Morris had issued a decision on the 15th April which blocked work not only on oil and gas pipelines but all other projects – such as electric transmission lines, telecommunication cables, internet connections, and the repair and maintenance of such infrastructure – which seek a permit under NWP 12.
Judge Morris had based his decision on his judgment that the US Army Corps of Engineers must consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on the cumulative risks to endangered species from the NWP 12 programme before that programme can be allowed to continue.
The Corps of Engineers reissued its NWP 12 programme in 2017 without what is called programmatic consultation under the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps of Engineers, joined by pipeline company TC Energy Corporation, responded to the 15th April ruling by filing motions for a partial stay pending appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Morris, chosen for the federal bench by President Obama, agreed with environmental activist plaintiffs that they would suffer substantial harm if a stay applied to oil and gas pipelines.
Programmatic consultation is “the only way to avoid piecemeal destruction of species and habitat,” he decided.
The case is Northern Plains Resource Council v. US Army Corps of Engineers.
Source: Oil & Gas Journal