Supreme Court Rules for Delaware in River Construction Dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected New Jersey’s claim that it has sole authority to control construction projects along its side of the Delaware River.
The court ruled 6-2 that New Jersey shares its legal authority with Delaware, SCOTUSblog reports. The decision will probably kill plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal on the river, the Associated Press reports.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote in the majority opinion (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) that Delaware can’t stop ordinary projects, but the proposal for a supertanker gas terminal at Crown Landing “goes well beyond the ordinary or usual.”
“We confirm Delaware’s authority to deny permission for the Crown Landing terminal,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in the majority opinion, according to an account by Dow Jones Newswires.
At issue were the states’ rights under a 1905 agreement that allowed each state to exercise “riparian jurisdiction” on its side of the river. Delaware had contended it could block the wharf if it is dangerous or a nuisance under a Supreme Court decision giving it rights to the riverbed, where a wharf for the project would be built.
The court heard the case under its original jurisdiction to decide disputes between the states. Justice Stephen G. Breyer owns stock in BP, the company that wants to build the plant. He did not participate in the case.
