A three-judge panel has tossed out the Trump administration’s analysis of a deepwater port exporting oil off the Texas coast, after ruling its pipelines would cross those of another deepwater port.
On Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Maritime Administration (MARAD) had improperly approved the Texas Gulflink project within the same application area as the Sea Port Oil Terminal, in violation of the Deepwater Port Act (DWPA).
The 1974 law only allows one deepwater port per application area, the 5th Circuit said, and MARAD should have included the Texas Gulflink pipelines as part of evaluation of the developer’s application for a federal construction license.
The decision could force the project’s developer, Sentinel Midstream, to halt initial construction on the project.
