There is some interesting– and promising– news out of northern Indiana this week. As you may recall, the hardworking folks at Save the Dunes have been trying to ensure that the Line 6B replacement does not harm sensitive wetlands. In that effort, they have been talking with local officials in LaPorte County. Now the LaPorte Herald-Argus reports that LaPorte County officials plan to “require a review of the project because it appears to fall within the regulations of its joint zoning ordinance.”
The wind in LaPorte County’s sails comes from a recent federal court decision. On March 25, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court issued a ruling in Maryland stating that federal law does not preempt the enforcement of local zoning laws. (Super legal nerds can read the ruling here.) Specifically, the Court upheld an earlier court ruling dismissing a complaint from Washington Gas Light Company declaring that the National Gas Pipeline Safety Act (PSA), the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and state law preempt Prince George County zoning plans. Washington Gas therefore sought an injunction preventing the county from enforcing its zoning laws.
But the Court rejected Washington Gas’s complaint, noting that the federal laws apply to matters of safety, not to siting and routing. The Court ruled:
the PSA does not preempt the County Zoning Plans because the PSA only preempts safety regulations and the County Zoning Plans are not safety regu- lations; and (3) the NGA does not preempt the County Zoning Plans because the NGA only preempts state and local laws governing interstate natural gas operations and, per the NGA, Washington Gas is a local distribution company.
In our view– and, evidently, in the view of the LaPorte County attorney– this ruling bodes very well for the efforts of local municipalities to have some input into the Line 6B project. Our regular readers might recall that, just like Washington Gas, Enbridge’s response to local governments has always been “pipelines are regulated at the federal level”– a misleading claim at best, as we’ve discussed before on more than one occasion. And had the 4th Circuit Court’s ruling been handed down some months ago, it might well have helped Brandon Township and Howell Township enforce their ordinances, which like the Zoning Ordinances of Prince George County do not attempt to regulate pipeline safety. Looking ahead to Phase Two of the Line 6B project, this ruling might yet be of some use not just to LaPorte County in Indiana, but some Michigan townships as well– if you’re on Phase Two, you might mention this to your township supervisor. The ruling might also be of some help to POLAR in its ongoing cases (about which we hope to post in detail later today).
We will keep you updated on matters in Indiana. For now, we’d just like to commend folks down there, especially Nate Pavlovic and Michael Hollcraft, and County Attorney Shaw Friedman, for their dedication to the protection of valuable ecosystems.