BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge in Maryland has thrown out a lawsuit aimed at moving ahead with a proposed gas pipeline project that was blocked by state officials.
U.S. District Court Judge George Russell dismissed the lawsuit filed by Columbia Gas on Wednesday.
The company was seeking access to Maryland property through eminent domain proceedings. A board of high-ranking state officials rejected the proposed pipeline across 3 miles (4 kilometers) of western Maryland, and the company then took the matter to federal court.
The pipeline would have 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.
