posted on Monday, August 27, 2007 10:06 AM by Gunnar Birgisson

Connecticut Blocks Pipeline Across Long Island Sound

A US District Court vindicated Connecticut´s opposition to construction of a pipeline across Long Island Sound, ruling that the US Secretary of Commerce's decision to overrule the state's opposition to the pipeline was arbitrary and capricious.  Barring a reversal at some future stage of the case, Connecticut thus prevailed in the latest of its numerous high-profile energy disputes, which in recent years have included opposition to a direct-current transmission cable across Long Island Sound and disputes over electric power prices and market rules.  The case is of further interest because it involves litigation under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), a statute intended to balance decisional authority between state and federal agencies.

The Islander East Pipeline, which is jointly owned by Spectra Energy and Keyspan Energy, proposes to lay a 45-mile pipeline from Long Island to Connecticut.  To proceed, the project requires the go-ahead from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission under the Natural Gas Act, but is also subject to the CZMA.  Under the CZMA, a state may develop a coastal management plan to help manage infrastructure and activities along its coast.  Connecticut determined that the Islander East Pipeline project was not consistent with is coastal management plan.  The Secretary of Commerce overruled the State, finding no alternatives to a project that met the CZMA requirement of advancing a national interest that outweighed local harms. 

Following an appeal by the State, the Court found shortcomings in the Secretary's analysis regarding the harm from the project and the potential for alternatives.  In particular, the Court found that the Secretary had failed to consider adequately the environmental impact of constructing the pipeline, including on shellfish habitat.  The Court further concluded that the Secretary had not considered adequately alternatives such as expansion of the Iroquois Gas Transmission System pipeline, which already crosses the sound, or placement of Islander East along that corridor. Following the Court's remand, the Department of Commerce will now reconsider its decision.