Judge Lifts Restraining Order Against Pipeline Protesters
UNION, W.Va. (AP) — A judge has lifted the restraining order against natural gas pipeline protesters sitting in trees in West Virginia.
News outlets report Judge Robert Irons denied the injunction, reversing course less than two weeks after granting Mountain Valley Pipeline a 10-day restraining order against the protesters.
Mountain Valley Pipeline had sought the order, saying the protest could prevent cutting trees along the pipeline’s path in time to meet a March 31 federal wildlife protection deadline. A licensed surveyor testified the protesters were outside of the no-cut zone and inside the company’s right of way, but the protesters’ attorney, William DePaulo, pointed out mapping inconsistencies.
In his ruling, Irons highlighted concerns over the map data’s accuracy and questioned the urgency to reach a decision over two trees along the 300-mile (480-kilometer) pipeline.
Related News
From Archive
- NTSB publishes preliminary report on fatal gas pipeline explosion in Lexington, Mo.
- 290-mile gas pipeline expansion proposed across Georgia, Alabama and South Carolina
- Ripple Fiber breaks ground on $140 million project, expanding into central Mass.
- City of Albuquerque halts fiber optic construction in response to damage, complaints
- Body retrieved day after fatal trench collapse at Bakersfield, Calif., job site
- Gehl and Mustang offer world’s largest skid loader
- Growing Pains and Gains
- Maryland lawmakers push to curb BGE pipeline spending, citing safety and cost concerns
- Authorities investigating trench collapse that killed worker in Ashburn, Va.
- City of Albuquerque halts fiber optic construction in response to damage, complaints
Comments