A panel of three judges on the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit delivered a ruling against environmentalists who disputed permits granted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) for a Louisiana-based liquid natural gas terminal and pipeline, known as the Driftwood project.
Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf, the environmentalist groups in question, initiated their legal challenge against the issued permits on the grounds that FERC and the Corps did not adequately adhere to proper administrative processes. Moreover, they asserted that the permit approval was arbitrary and capricious and voiced their protest against the project placement evaluation and the perceived lack of clarity surrounding the agency’s deviation from an alleged rigid hierarchical structure relating to mitigation schemes.
At the time of filing the lawsuit, the attorney for Sierra Club maintained that it was inappropriate for FERC to assert that this project served the public interest, arguing that this project was not only unnecessary, but would also exacerbate adverse impacts on communities in an area already overburdened by industry. Furthermore, they expressed concerns over whether the Commission had sufficiently considered the full extent of potential harm emanating from this project.
However, the court rejected the arguments posed by Sierra Club and Healthy Gulf, contrarily asserting that these groups had been given ample opportunity to submit comments during the permit application review process. The court also deemed that the explanations provided in support of the granting of permits were sufficient. Furthermore, the court stressed the Corps statutory authority to override the mitigation hierarchy “where appropriate”. The court’s belief in the provision of adequate notice and satisfactory explanations led to its decision to defer to the administrative agencies and uphold the permits. Consequently, the Driftwood project is greenlit to proceed, with expected operations commencing by 2027.
Recently, litigation launched by environmentalists in an effort to enforce and broaden environmental protection measures has seen varying degrees of success. For instance, courts have recently ruled against natural gas companies and overturned laws regulating natural gas, and even ruled in favor of young climate activists.
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