ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A gas company has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Maryland after a board of high-ranking state officials voted unanimously to reject a proposed pipeline across 3 miles (4 kilometers) of western Maryland.
Columbia Gas filed the lawsuit Thursday to seek access to the property through eminent domain proceedings.
Maryland's Board of Public Works, which includes Gov. Larry Hogan, Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Comptroller Peter Franchot, voted 3-0 in January against an easement for TransCanada's pipeline.
It would run under the Potomac River near Hancock, Maryland, and extend from Columbia Gas' network in Pennsylvania to Mountaineer Gas' distribution system in West Virginia.
Environmentalists and residents have been vocal about opposing the pipeline, which would carry natural gas. More than 60 state lawmakers opposed the pipeline.
