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
- Fatal trench collapse in Mass. leads to $4.6 million OSHA penalty, dozens of violations
- OSHA investigates fatal trench collapse at Conroe construction site
- Final Lake Erie sewer tunnel project set to begin after decades-long $3 billion effort
- Texas811 launches real-time excavation detection to prevent utility strikes
- Fiber drilling strike triggers major sewer failure, lawsuits in Florida
- Fatal trench collapse in Mass. leads to $4.6 million OSHA penalty, dozens of violations
- Texas811 launches real-time excavation detection to prevent utility strikes
- Race Communications breaks ground on Bakersfield fiber network
- Final Lake Erie sewer tunnel project set to begin after decades-long $3 billion effort
- Inside Infrastructure: Utility locators warn of systemic failures in damage prevention process
Comments