(Reuters) – A US appeals court on Friday suspended the approvals and permits needed to allow a residential project to be built Morgan’s children (NYSE:) subsidiary to build a 32-mile gas pipeline in Tennessee, at the request of environmental groups.
The proposed Cumberland project, which would be built by Kinder Morgan’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline, could transport about an additional 245,000 decatherm per day to energy supplier Tennessee Valley Authority.
By a 2-1 vote, the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s order to issue a water quality certificate and the Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of the permit.
The moratorium request was filed by environmental organizations Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club, which argued that construction of the pipeline could have a harmful impact on the environment.
The court said the stay was appropriate to allow time to consider the merits of the environmental groups’ case.
She added that further arguments in the case will be heard in December.
A Kinder Morgan spokesman said the company disagrees with the court’s decision, which it will continue to review as it evaluates its options.
Appalachian Voices and the Sierra Club did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
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