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Federal judge dismisses legal effort to stop gas pipeline

Photo of Judge with gavel
wikimedia

A federal judge has delivered a blow to some Ohio property owners' efforts to stop construction of a high-pressure natural gas pipeline.

U.S. District Judge John Adams in Akron on Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit filed in May by more than 60 property owners. They want the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission prevented from approving construction plans for the 250-mile-long (402-kilometer) NEXUS pipeline.

The judge accepted a magistrate's recommendation that the court in northern Ohio lacks jurisdiction to consider the challenge.

The $2 billion project is designed to carry 1.5 billion cubic feet (42.5 million cubic meters) of gas daily from the Utica and Marcellus shale fields in Appalachia across northern Ohio into Michigan and Ontario, Canada.

Attorney Aaron Ridenbaugh, an attorney representing the property owners, declined to comment Tuesday.