Cole, C. v. DEP; Apl of: Adelphia Gateway

Summary

The Court held that Pennsylvania’s Environmental Hearing Board has jurisdiction to review challenges to the Department of Environmental Protection’s federally delegated permitting decision for an interstate natural-gas project. It concluded that the federal jurisdictional provision applies to a “civil action,” not to an administrative appeal before the Environmental Hearing Board, and that Pennsylvania’s two-stage permitting process does not reach finality until Environmental Hearing Board review is completed or the time to seek it expires. The Court affirmed the Commonwealth Court and remanded for merits review by the Environmental Hearing Board.