Environmental groups sue to block natural gas pipeline

Environmental groups sue to block natural gas pipeline. Environmental groups have filed a federal lawsuit to stop a 516-mile-long natural gas pipeline that would run through three Southeastern states.

Groups including the Sierra Club filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.

The suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers comes less than a week after the $3.2-billion Sabal Trail project received final federal approvals, including permits to discharge dredged materials into wetlands and other water bodies. Environmental groups sue to block natural gas pipeline

The project is a joint effort by Spectra Energy, Duke Energy and Florida Power & Light. The pipeline will carry natural gas from Alabama, through Georgia, into Florida.

The suit says the project poses a threat to drinking water sources in the region.

Corps spokeswoman Nikki Nobles declined to comment Thursday, citing the pending litigation.Natural gas (also called fossil gas; sometimes just gas), is a naturally occurring hydrocarbon gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, but commonly including varying amounts of other higher alkanes, and sometimes a small percentage of carbon dioxide, nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide, or helium. It is formed when layers of decomposing plant and animal matter are exposed to intense heat and pressure under the surface of the Earth over millions of years

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