Indigenous Environmental Network and North Coast Rivers Alliance v. President Donald J. Trump, et al. and TC Energy Corporation, et al.

Authors

Kirsten D. Gerbatsch Ms., Alexander Blewett III School of Law at the University of MontanaFollow

Case Summary Citation

Indigenous Environmental Network and North Coast Rivers Alliance v. President Donald J. Trump, et al. and TC Energy Corporation, et al., 428 F. Supp. 3d 296 (D. Mont. 2019)

Abstract

A single cross-border pipeline project has been the epicenter of environmental litigation for the last decade—and it is not over yet. For years, TransCanada Keystone Pipeline, LP and TC Energy have sought to construct and maintain a segment of the Keystone pipeline between the United States and Canada to connect existing pipeline infrastructure and transport crude oil. To do so, the company must first apply and be approved for a permit. Between 2008 and 2012, President Obama twice denied TransCanada Keystone Pipeline and TC Energy’s applications. Then, in 2017 and again in 2019, President Trump unilaterally invited TC Energy’s application and approved the permit. Plaintiffs challenged the 2017 permit in a separate case. This case centers upon President Trump’s issuance of the 2019 permit. In response, Plaintiffs sought a preliminary injunction to stay all federally-issued permits that allowed TC Energy to construct the pipeline, and to prohibit its construction and preconstruction activities during litigation.