In what could be a significant precedential decision, on February 17, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit granted an emergency temporary stay of construction activity on a proposed interstate pipeline and related pipeline facilities in Pennsylvania, serving the Marcellus Shale. Under review is a petition brought by the Sierra Club and Earthjustice alleging that the FERC failed to adequately review environmental impacts to Marcellus Shale drilling activity under its NEPA analysis. Further argument to determine whether the stay will continue is scheduled for February 28, 2012. Click here for the Client Alert.
