Third Circuit Halts Interstate Pipeline Construction in PennEast Pipeline: States and Environmentalists Find an Ally in Sovereign Immunity

This Casebrief examines the Third Circuit’s decision in In re PennEast Pipeline Co. and argues that the court correctly held that the Natural Gas Act does not authorize private pipeline developers to hale states into federal court to condemn state-owned property interests. Although Congress delegated the federal eminent domain power to natural gas companies, the court concluded that this delegation did not clearly extend the federal government’s exemption from Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity. The Casebrief contends that the decision appropriately safeguards state sovereignty while leaving open alternative avenues for interstate pipeline development. It further argues that the ruling highlights the tension between federal energy policy and constitutional federalism and may prompt congressional reconsideration of the Natural Gas Act’s treatment of state property interests.[This abstract was written by Microsoft Copilot, a generative artificial intelligence.]