A federal appeals panel has temporarily halted two permits needed to begin construction on a pipeline that will supply a natural gas plant planned in Tennessee. The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel delivered a 2-1 split decision Friday that keeps Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company LLC from starting to build its 32-mile pipeline. The project would connect to a Tennessee Valley Authority gas plant that is planned at the site of the coal-fired Cumberland Fossil Plant that is being retired. Before the ruling, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company could have begun construction as soon as Tuesday. Spokespeople for the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Army Corps of Engineers declined to comment on the decision.
