PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC v. State of New Jersey, et al.
Issues
Without violating the Eleventh Amendment, can a private party exercise the federal government’s eminent-domain power to seize land that belongs to a State, and can a federal court properly hear the case?
This case asks the Supreme Court to consider whether a private company can exercise the federal government’s eminent-domain power and also considers the scope of a federal court’s jurisdiction. Once the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity, the Natural Gas Act authorizes private parties to exercise the federal government’s eminent-domain power to secure rights-of-way and compensation to the landowner. Petitioner PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC argues that the Natural Gas Act’s delegation is necessary and ministerial, and there is no insult to state sovereignty in suits such as this. By contrast, Respondent New Jersey et al. contends that this delegation violates the Eleventh Amendment’s guarantee of sovereign immunity to the States. Both PennEast and New Jersey argue that the Third Circuit properly exercised its jurisdiction over the case. The outcome of this case has implications for siting new natural gas pipelines, eminent domain, and states’ rights.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
(1) Whether the Natural Gas Act delegates to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission certificate-holders the authority to exercise the federal government’s eminent-domain power to condemn land in which a state claims an interest; and
(2) whether the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit properly exercised jurisdiction over this case.
PennEast Pipeline Co. (“PennEast”) plans to construct a pipeline that will pass through Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Edited by
Additional Resources
- Susan Phillips, U.S. Supreme Court to Hear PennEast Pipeline Eminent Domain Case, NPR StateImpact Pennsylvania (Feb. 3, 2021).
- Anthony Carna, Andrew Gann, Miles Indest, J. Brian Jackson, Christina Lepore Hinton, & Yasser Madriz, Pipeline Progeny: The Bounds of Eminent-Domain Power and FERC Certificates, JD Supra (Mar. 23, 2021).