New Jersey Supreme Court rules can’t block a natural gas pipeline

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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday removed an obstacle to building a natural gas pipeline through Pennsylvania and New Jersey, ruling that a pipeline developer can invoke the authority of the federal government to take necessary state property for the project.

Court opinion 5-4, by Chief Justice John Roberts, gave a major victory to the natural gas industry by rejecting a New Jersey challenge to the PennEast Pipeline Co. business. , a joint venture of several energy companies that aims to build a 116-mile interstate pipeline.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized the project, and under the Natural Gas Act, this approval allowed the company to use the eminent federal domain authority to seize the land, if necessary.

PennEast said it was able to negotiate rights of the way with most of the property owners, but it has taken to court in its attempt to take the dozens of plots — with compensation — in which the state of New Jersey owns an ownership stake.

New Jersey contested the grounds for sovereign immunity, arguing that a private party like PennEast, a Delaware corporation, could not drag a sovereign state into federal court against that state’s wishes.

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