Religious Order Loses Attempt to Stop Pipeline

In Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Co., LLC v. Permanent Easement for 2.14 Acres, (ED PA, Aug. 23, 2017), a Pennsylvania federal district court held that Transcontinental Pipeline Co. has the right to condemn and take immediate possession of property of the Adorers of Christ religious order so that the company can build its Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline.  The court said in part:

Adorers claim that they "exercise their religious beliefs by, among other things, caring for and protecting the land they own," and that their efforts to "preserve the sacredness of God's Earth" are integral to the practice of their faith.  However, the Adorers have failed to establish how Transco's possession of the right of way on their land will in any way affect their ability to practice their faith and spread their message. They have not presented one piece of evidence that demonstrates how their religious beliefs will be abridged in any way.