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Final Humilation: Dead PennEast Pipe Pays Antis Who Sued to Block It

After going all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and winning, PennEast Pipeline, a 120-mile, primarily 36-inch pipeline that would have cost $1 billion to build and run from Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, and terminate at Transco’s pipeline interconnection near Pennington, Mercer County, New Jersey, threw in the towel last September (see PennEast Pipeline Throws in the Towel – Project Won’t Get Built). Now comes the final humiliation. Some of the antis who opposed the pipeline and helped contribute to its demise are getting reimbursed for their legal expenses by PennEast.
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THE Delaware Riverkeeper Continues to Sue Dead PennEast Pipe

PennEast Pipeline, a 120-mile, primarily 36-inch pipeline that would have cost $1 billion to build and run from Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, and terminate at Transco’s pipeline interconnection near Pennington, Mercer County, New Jersey, is as dead as a doornail (see PennEast Pipeline Throws in the Towel – Project Won’t Get Built). In late September the partners in the project announced “PennEast has ceased all further development of the Project.” And yet THE (deluded) Delaware Riverkeeper is convinced PennEast will rise from the dead like Jesus Christ. So Riverkeeper is suing to keep on suing–to keep PennEast dead and buried. We’ll explain.
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Pennsylvania is the Biggest Loser in PennEast Pipe Cancellation

States often get excited when the federal government deigns to hand out taxpayer money in dribs and drabs, a billion here and a billion there. Yet the best source of money to pump into an economy is private funds, invested by private companies. Private investment grows an economy for everyone, providing jobs and stimulus throughout the economy. With the sad announcement yesterday that PennEast Pipeline is abandoning its project, Pennsylvania, in particular, will miss out on most of the $1.2 billion estimated price tag to build it. All those jobs, all that investment….poof! Gone. Thanks to anti-fossil fuel nutters.
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PennEast Pipeline Throws in the Towel – Project Won’t Get Built

Score another victory for the forces of evil, by which we mean leftwing, wackadoodle anti-fossil fuel extremists. Just a short time ago MDN received the statement below from PennEast Pipeline that states, in our words, they’ve given up. Throwing in the towel. Dead. PennEast will not get built. You can’t say we didn’t warn you this may happen.
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Troubling: PennEast Pipeline Withdraws NJ Eminent Domain Lawsuits

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Some deeply disturbing news out of New Jersey. You may recall that PennEast Pipeline, a 120-mile, primarily 36-inch pipeline that will cost $1 billion to build and run from Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, and terminate at Transco’s pipeline interconnection near Pennington, Mercer County, New Jersey, won a huge and important victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in June (see PennEast Pipeline Squeaks Out 5-4 Supreme Court Victory Over NJ). The victory allows PennEast to use eminent domain to run the pipeline across property owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey. Yet PennEast notified federal court this week it is withdrawing its eminent domain case against NJ for 42 properties the state either controls or owns. What the heck is going on?
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PennEast Stops Eminent Domain Lawsuits in PA – What Does it Mean?

Some disturbing news out of Pennsylvania. You may recall that PennEast Pipeline, a 120-mile, primarily 36-inch pipeline that will cost $1 billion to build and run from Dallas, Luzerne County, in northeastern Pennsylvania, and terminate at Transco’s pipeline interconnection near Pennington, Mercer County, New Jersey, won a huge and important victory at the U.S. Supreme Court in June (see PennEast Pipeline Squeaks Out 5-4 Supreme Court Victory Over NJ). The victory allows PennEast to use eminent domain to run the pipeline across property owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey. Yet all of a sudden the company has stopped pursuing eminent domain in Pennsylvania–where supposedly they were getting ready to begin construction this year.
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Analyzing the Supreme Court’s PennEast Pipeline v. NJ Decision

The Supreme Court decision from earlier this week allowing PennEast Pipeline to use the federally delegated power of eminent domain to cross tiny pieces of land owned (or controlled by) New Jersey is still reverberating across the country (see PennEast Pipeline Squeaks Out 5-4 Supreme Court Victory Over NJ). Antis were quick to dismiss the decision, saying it’s “not the final word” on whether the project will get built. They’re missing (or intentionally obfuscating) the point. We have two excellent analyses of the court’s decision and how it will affect not only the prospects for finishing PennEast, but the prospects for other (future) pipeline projects. We even have insight into how this decision affects projects other than pipelines.
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PennEast Pipeline Still Faces Obstacles Before Building

As encouraging (indeed critical) as this week’s Supreme Court decision was and is for the PennEast Pipeline, a 120-mile 1.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) pipeline from northeastern Pennsylvania to New Jersey, the court victory does not automatically mean the pipeline will get built. Not one square inch of pipe has been laid yet. What are the potential obstacles that could derail the project?
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PennEast Pipeline Squeaks Out 5-4 Supreme Court Victory Over NJ

As we previously predicted would happen, New Jersey lost its Supreme Court case to block PennEast Pipeline from using eminent domain to cross NJ-owned or controlled land. This was a critical case to prevent blue states like NJ, and New York, and California from blocking ALL new interstate pipelines aimed at crossing states to deliver product from other states. NJ’s lawless action was an overt attempt at blocking interstate commerce and a direct challenge to one of the purposes of the Natural Gas Act, passed in 1938. Disappointingly PennEast won by only one vote. Still, it’s a victory!
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PennEast Supreme Court Case Key to Columbia Potomac Pipeline Too

Here’s a connection we hadn’t made until we read about yesterday’s oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court in PennEast Pipeline vs. New Jersey. The connection is this: The PennEast case also has huge ramifications for another currently-stalled M-U pipeline. Columbia Gas wants to build a tiny 3.37-mile, 8-inch pipeline under the Potomac River from Maryland to West Virginia. It is being blocked from doing so by the lefties in Maryland (see Fed Judge Upholds Maryland Decision to Block Pipe Under Potomac). Maryland is using the same flawed argument NJ is using. If PennEast wins its case (which is likely), Columbia will have grounds to challenge Maryland.
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U.S. Supreme Court Hears PennEast vs. NJ Tomorrow – What’s at Stake

Tomorrow the nine justices of the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments from the U.S. Solicitor General (and attorneys for FERC and PennEast Pipeline) on one side, and arguments from the State of New Jersey on the other side. The surface issue is whether or not PennEast can use a federally-delegated right of eminent domain to build a pipeline across several parcels of property NJ claims it controls (but doesn’t own). The deeper issue is whether or not the Natural Gas Act, amended by Congress in 1947, that allows eminent domain to be used by private companies when delegated by the government, will be ripped to shreds or not. The deeper issue is whether any new interstate pipelines will ever get built again.
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NJ’s Losing Argument to the U.S. Supreme Court re PennEast Pipe

Last week the State of New Jersey, along with co-conspirator the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, filed their responses to defend their indefensible actions in blocking PennEast Pipeline’s eminent domain taking of land owned or controlled by NJ. It was their last, desperate attempt to avoid having a lower court ruling overturned. They gave it their best shot, but we think they came up short.
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PennEast Pipeline Says Project Still on Track to Launch in 2022

Earlier this week MDN brought you the news that the Biden administration, via its Acting Solicitor General, filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court supporting PennEast Pipeline’s appealed case to overturn a lower court decision barring the company from using eminent domain to condemn land owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey (see Biden Admin Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting PennEast Pipe). In light of this positive development, yesterday PennEast laid out a timeline for completing the project if the Supremes rule the right way (and they almost certainly will)…
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NJ Antis Throw Temper Tantrum After Biden Supports PennEast

It’s kind of funny to watch how leftists react when something doesn’t go their way. Tell someone on the left “no” or “wait” or “you’ll have to pay for that” and they melt like snowflakes. Sometimes they pitch the equivalent of a temper tantrum. That was our thought as we read about a leftist Democrat politician from New Jersey, Lisa McCormick, and her reaction to the Biden administration filing a brief that supports the PennEast Pipeline in U.S. Supreme Court.
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Biden Admin Files Supreme Court Brief Supporting PennEast Pipe

In early February MDN told you that it was likely the Biden administration, although anti-drilling and anti-pipeline, would have no choice but to support an active case before the U.S. Supreme Court dealing with eminent domain for the PennEast Pipeline project (see Biden Justice Dept. Likely to Support PennEast in Supreme Crt Case). Indeed we were right. Yesterday Biden’s Acting Solicitor General filed a brief in the case supporting PennEast’s right to use FERC federally-conferred eminent domain to run the pipe across property owned and/or controlled by the State of New Jersey.
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PennEast Pipe Files Supreme Court Brief; Timeline for Construction

On Monday PennEast Pipeline filed its opening brief in a case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in April. The case appeals a lower court ruling that disallows PennEast from using eminent domain to build across land owned or controlled by the State of New Jersey. PennEast calls the previous ruling by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals “deeply flawed” and “seriously misunderstands both eminent domain and sovereign immunity.” What are PennEast’s chances of winning, and if they do win, when will PennEast get built?
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