US Supreme Court Rules Delaware Can Bar BP Gas Facility
Monday March 31st, 2008 / 15h50
By Mark H. Anderson Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Supreme Court Monday, in settling a border dispute between Delaware and New Jersey, ruled Delaware can deny BP Plc (BP) the ability to build a $500 million liquid natural gas facility off the shore of New Jersey. The 6-2 opinion settles litigation between the two states, which had put the BP facility, known as the Crown Landing project, in limbo. "We confirm Delaware's authority to deny permission for the Crown Landing terminal," Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said in the majority opinion. State disputes occupy a narrow class of Supreme Court litigation known as original cases; BP was not a direct party in the state dispute The ruling limited Delaware's rights over the New Jersey side of the Delaware River for "ordinary and usual" wharf business off the New Jersey Shore. However, the court said a grant going back to the days of England's rule giving Delaware extraordinary control over the river does allow the state to bar projects of "extraordinary character." The English land grant gave Delaware control of a 12-mile circle around New Castle, Del., including the southernmost portion of the Delaware River across to the low-water mark of the New Jersey shore. The two states have periodically locked horns since the 1800s over what Delaware can tell New Jersey to do on its side of the river. There is a long history of fighting between the two states over this land grant. In the 1870s, New Jersey and Delaware took the first head-to-head state legal fight to the U.S. Supreme Court over fishing license fees. In the 1920s, New Jersey brought a second case to the high court and lost when the justices said Delaware does indeed own the river from its shore up to the low-water mark on New Jersey's side. In 2005, Delaware rekindled the water boundary fires when it rejected permits filed by Crown Landing LLC for a natural-gas plant. The dispute rankled regional politics and prompted another boundary fight before the Supreme Court. A special judge was appointed to give a recommendation to the court and in 2007 that judge sided with Delaware. The Supreme Court opinion affirms major parts of the special judge's recommendations. Joining Justice Ginsburg in the majority are Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas and John Paul Stevens. Justice Stevens filed a separate opinion in which he agreed with the outcome under a different line of legal reasoning. Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito dissented. Justice Stephen Breyer was recused from the case; he has reported ownership of BP common stock in past financial disclosures. The case is New Jersey v. Delaware, No. 134 original. -By Mark H. Anderson, Dow Jones Newswires, 202 862-9254; mark.anderson@dowjones.com
