PARKERSBURG, W.Va (WTAP) -An economist at West Virginia University says a number of pipeline projects could suffer the same fate of the Atlantic Coast pipeline-legal delays leading to rising construction costs.
“If you have an increasing number of pipeline projects that are challenged continuously, and the backers of the project determine that, at this point, there’s too much uncertainty,” says Brian Lego, Research Assistant Professor, WVU Business and Economic Research. “If that happens, then you would see bigger problems for the industry as a whole.”
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in June essentially upholding the Atlantic Coast project. But Tuesday, the court let stand a lower court ruling denying a permit for another major project: the Keystone XL pipeline originating in Canada.
There’s been a lot of talk about the cost in construction and pipeline jobs. But the reason for the pipelines is to transport natural gas in larger quantities to customers.