Court halts pipeline construction
In a major reprieve for Tennessee communities, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit paused two permits for the Tennessee Valley Authority’s (TVA) proposed Cumberland Pipeline, halting construction of the proposed methane gas pipeline while it considers the cases.
The Cumberland Pipeline is slated to cut through Middle Tennessee and would serve TVA’s proposed Cumberland Gas Plant as part of their massive methane gas buildout. The pipeline would be built by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, and construction was set to begin as early as this week – even though both the proposed Cumberland plant and pipeline are at the center of several pending court challenges.
We are glad the court recognizes the irreparable damage the Cumberland Pipeline threatens to do to Tennessee waterways.
Jamie Whitlock, Senior Attorney
Falsely called natural gas by industry, methane is just another dirty fossil fuel with a planet warming potential 80 times greater than carbon dioxide in the short term. Methane gas pipelines like the proposed Cumberland Pipeline are inherently risky infrastructure. The proposed pipeline would cross scores of Middle Tennessee streams and wetlands using environmentally harmful trenching methods. At some crossings, Tennessee Gas Pipeline company plans to use explosives in order to build the pipeline across the waterbodies, doing significant and long-lasting damage to these waters as well as the communities and wildlife that rely on them.
“We are glad the court recognizes the irreparable damage the Cumberland Pipeline threatens to do to Tennessee waterways and has paused construction until these appeals are resolved,” SELC Senior Attorney Jamie Whitlock said. “These water permits for the pipeline were rubberstamped and ignore the long-lasting harm construction of this pipeline will cause.”
The court order comes after SELC and Appalachian Mountain Advocates, on behalf of Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, asked a federal court of appeals to review a state- and federal-issued water quality permit for the Cumberland Pipeline, arguing that the permits ignored, among other things, the damaging impacts the pipeline will have on local waterways.
“The stay of these two permits, which postpones construction that was set to begin this week, vindicates the deep concerns of the Cumberland community about the safety of their local ecosystems. This pause is a crucial opportunity to rethink the risks of fossil fuel development and prioritize the health and environment of Cumberland and our region.” said Emily Sherwood, Sierra Club Senior Campaign Organizer.
The pipeline and the plant are both parts of TVA’s nearly $9 billion gas spending spree, which will saddle families across the Tennessee Valley with higher power bills and force them to pay volatile fossil fuel prices for decades to come. The federal utility has already raised rates twice in the last year, in part to fund its massive gas expansion.
SELC has filed several lawsuits pushing back on TVA’s reckless gas plans, including challenges to the federal utility’s Cumberland Gas Plant and Kingston Gas Plant.