A Maryland circuit court judge listened to lawyers for Dominion Resources Inc. and two environmental groups on Monday, the opening salvo in lawsuit over a proposed natural gas liquefaction facility, but ultimately decided to take the case under advisement.

Calvert County Circuit Court Judge James Salmon heard cross motions for summary judgment from attorneys representing Dominion, the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club and the Maryland Conservation Council (MCC) in Dominion Cove Point LNG LP v. The Sierra Club et al., (No. 04-C-12-000598). Dominion filed a lawsuit against the two groups in May after the Sierra Club claimed that it had the authority to block one of its subsidiaries from building a liquefaction plant at Cove Point, Dominion’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Lusby, MD (see Daily GPI, May 21).

“There’s not a lot to report,” Sierra Club attorney Craig Segall told NGI Monday. “We both made our presentations and the judge said he would take it under advisement and would rule in due course.”

Dominion spokesman Dan Donovan concurred, saying Salmon promised a ruling “as soon as I can,” and pointed out that the MCC is on their side in the dispute. “The Maryland Conservation agrees with Dominion, that the contract allows for exports,” Donovan told NGI. “Their attorney was very adamant, both in his support of Dominion’s position and criticism of Sierra. They agree that as long as we stay within the developed area of the [Cove Point LNG] plant, which has already been developed, we have the right to put the facilities up for exports.”

Dominion Cove Point LNG LP has proposed spending more than $2 billion on the liquefaction project, which would convert natural gas from the booming Marcellus and Utica shales into LNG for export. The company has stated that a 2005 agreement between Dominion and the Sierra Club specifically permits all the activities related to the project (see Daily GPI, April 27).

But the Sierra Club disagrees, insisting that an agreement dating back to the 1970s with the previous owner of the Cove Point LNG terminal — Columbia LNG Corp. — trumps Dominion’s claims. Sierra Club also opposes the project because it indirectly supports hydraulic fracturing, which is used in most unconventional drilling.

“We have significant concerns about the environmental and economic impact of increasing exports of natural gas,” Josh Tulkin, state director of the Maryland chapter of the Sierra Club, told NGI. “However this dispute is about whether we have the right to approve or reject projects that we believe will properly protect the Cove Point area. Our reading is that we not only have that right, but have that responsibility.”

Dominion received permission last October to export LNG from Cove Point to countries that have free trade agreements (FTA) with the United States, but like other companies is still waiting for approval to export to non-FTA countries before it can add liquefaction to Cove Point (see Daily GPI, March 22; Jan. 31).

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