Judge won’t toss Va. project’s permits, despite NEPA ruling

摘要

A federal judge won't scrap permits for an already constructed electric transmission line across the James River — even after an appeals court struck down the Army Corps of Engineers' environmental review supporting the project. U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Royce Lamberth said Friday that voiding federal approvals for the Dominion Virginia Power line across the James River was "not appropriate" because the project is already providing electricity to the region. His ruling follows the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit's finding earlier this year that the Army Corps needed to revisit its National Environmental Policy Act review for the project. "It is possible that after completing the [environmental impact statement], the Corps will decide to re-issue the permit for the project. ... If that were the case, large sums of money would have been wasted," Lamberth, a Reagan appointee to the district court, wrote.