A federal appeals court panel rejected the petition of a Texas environmental group seeking a more expanded environmental review of the Trans-Pecos pipeline in West Texas. The court concluded that the pipeline was not subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) review as contended by the Big Bend Conservation Alliance:
“In sum, substantial evidence supports FERC’s finding that the Trans-Pecos Pipeline is a non-jurisdictional intrastate pipeline subject to regulation by the State of Texas. We affirm its refusal to exercise jurisdiction over the pipeline.”
The pipeline was completed and certified for operation in early 2017 after several anti-pipeline protesters from the 2016 Dakota Access pipeline protests descended upon West Texas to establish protest camps. The protests led to a series of arrests, a tactic recently endorsed by the Texas Sierra Club.
The camps featured questionable leadership with long criminal pasts, including rape, sex with a minor, selling drugs, human smuggling, burglary, criminal trespassing, and bail jumping. Even when their criminal pasts became front-page news, fellow environmental leaders continued their unwavering support for anyone promoting the ideologies of the Environmentalist Left, even if they were registered sex offenders.
