A massive gas-line expansion has been halted after an appeals court ordered the previous approvals to be vacated.
According to the New Jersey Monitor, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reevaluate a gas-line project called the Regional Energy Access Expansion.
This project was set to expand a compressor station in Somerset County, New Jersey, and then construct a new compressor facility in Gloucester County.
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When the FERC approved the project in January 2023, a group of environmentalists challenged the ruling, calling the project expensive, unnecessary, and harmful to the environment.
New Jersey Ratepayer Advocate Brian Lipman, New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, and seven other state attorneys general backed the environmentalist coalition's appeal.
A three-judge panel, including Judge J. Michelle Childs, agreed that the commission did not consider compelling evidence showing an expansion was unnecessary, and they did not consider how the REA project would undermine state policies enacted to reduce pollution.
The project's construction alone could create more than 43,500 metric tons of planet-warming gases, and the entire operation could produce about 560,000 metric tons of toxic pollution annually, leading to roughly $46 billion in economic damages, per the Monitor.
Allison Inserro, a spokeswoman for Platkin's office, said: "FERC did not do its due diligence to ensure that the pipeline was really necessary, or that it justifies the environmental disruption the pipeline will cause."
The company behind the project, Williams Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company — known as Transco — has already completed much of its construction, and it's not yet clear what immediate impact the appeal will have on its operation.
Transco officials issued a statement in response to the court's decision, insisting that they believed the REA project was "much-needed."
The commission and Transco have 45 days to request the court rehear their case. Even though the decision may not be final, many see this as a huge win.
Stopping the construction of dirty fuel projects decreases unnecessary spending and keeps the air cleaner for communities. It also reduces planet-warming pollution, helping to ensure a safer future for all by decreasing global temperatures.
Food & Water Watch New Jersey State Director Matt Smith told the Monitor: "To transition away from fossil fuels, we need to stop building new polluting infrastructure that locks us into decades more dirty energy dependence."
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