The proposed Islander East Pipeline, which would have provided natural gas from Connecticut to New York through the Long Island Sound, was tossed out the window on Wednesday.
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and Governor Jodi Rell shared their satisfaction in separate statements after the company gave up its appeal to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.
“Islander East is dead -- finally, irretrievably and irrevocably,” Blumenthal said. “Our long fight -- from its first days about a decade ago -- has produced final victory. The developers have abandoned their last, long shot appeal… consigning this environmental abomination to the ash heap of history.”
A couple of months back, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Islander East’s appeal to build the pipeline, the first major blow to the company. The latest decision puts the nail in the coffin, since the company decided to halt any further appeal.
“We have repeatedly said construction of the pipeline along this proposed route would be harmful,” Rell said. “We denied various permits and the courts have agreed with us. Now Islander East has finally gotten the message. Today’s legal action puts an end to the threats to natural resources and aquatic life raised by Islander East’s proposed route.”
