A federal judge in Montana has reaffirmed his decision to block construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline and any other oil or natural gas pipeline project seeking approval for new construction under a streamlined nationwide permitting system for infrastructure anywhere in the country.
Judge Brian Morris of the US District Court for the District of Montana narrowed his decision May 11 to apply only to construction of new oil and gas pipelines under Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12).
Morris had issued a decision Apr. 15 that blocked work not only on oil and gas pipelines but all other projects—such as electric transmission lines, telecommunication cables, internet connections, and the repair and maintenance of such infrastructure—that seek a permit under NWP 12.
Morris had based his decision on his judgment that the US Army Corps of Engineers must consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service on the cumulative risks to endangered species from the NWP 12 program before that program can be allowed to continue. The Corps of Engineers reissued its NWP 12 program in 2017 without what is called programmatic consultation under the Endangered Species Act.
The Corps of Engineers, joined by pipeline company TC Energy Corp., responded to the Apr. 15 ruling by filing motions for a partial stay pending appeal to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Morris, chosen for the federal bench by President Obama, agreed with environmental activist plaintiffs that they would suffer substantial harm if a stay applied to oil and gas pipelines.
Programmatic consultation is “the only way to avoid piecemeal destruction of species and habitat,” he decided.
The case is Northern Plains Resource Council v. US Army Corps of Engineers.
