Regulatory Submissions

APGA Motion to Intervene in PennEast Pipeline Request for Declaratory Order Impacting Eminent Domain (October 8 2021) 

10-21-2019 02:19 PM

On October 8th, APGA filed a Motion to Intervene with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in response to a request for a petition for declaratory order filed by PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC in which they are seeking action requesting that the Commission issue an order interpreting the Natural Gas Act's eminent domain authority.  Specifically, the are requesting the Commission to clarify that a  certificate holder's authority to “condemn the necessary right-of-way to construct, operate, and maintain a [natural gas] pipeline” and the “necessary land or other property, in addition to right-of-way, for the location of compressor stations [and other associated equipment],” applies to property in which a state holds an interest.  The issue originated with a ruling in September by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit which barred PennEast Pipeline Co from using a federal law to seize properties controlled by the state of New Jersey to build its proposed $1 billion natural gas pipeline. The court found that the Natural Gas Act does not allow companies to condemn state controlled land in federal court because states enjoy sovereign immunity from such actions under the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In other words, a pipeline certificate holder could sue a private landowner for eminent domain but not a state.

Statistics
0 Favorited
4 Views
1 Files
0 Shares
1 Downloads
Attachment(s)
pdf file
APGA MTI RP20-41.pdf   65 KB   1 version
Uploaded - 10-21-2019

Related Entries and Links

No Related Resource entered.