Williams Sues NY Over Constitution Pipe – DEC May Lose Authority

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lawsuitThree cheers for Williams. Hip hip horray! Williams announced yesterday a two-pronged legal challenge against New York State and its decision to deny stream crossing permits for the federally-approved Constitution Pipeline project (see NY Gov. Cuomo Refuses to Grant Permits for Constitution Pipeline). The first prong is a lawsuit filed in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit–challenging the decision itself as “arbitrary and capricious.” The second prong is a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York–seeking recognition by the court that New York doesn’t even have jurisdiction over the project. It is this second case that should have Cuomo, the DEC and the antis VERY worried. If the case goes against them, it means that New York will forever be cut out of decision-making with regard to any FERC-approved projects. Properly so. NY has shown itself to be motivated by politics and not by science and certainly not by common sense. It’s time to remove NY from the equation. Staffers at the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) feared this might happen and counseled Cuomo to approve the Constitution project–sage advice he ignored…

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