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The U-S Supreme Court has rejected the appeal of Islander East Pipeline Company which wants to build a pipeline to carry natural gas under Long Island Sound from Connecticut to New York.

Seven years ago the Islander East Pipeline Company, now a partnership pf Spectra Energy and National Grid, announced a proposal to build a 50 mile pipeline underwater from Connecticut to New York. The project had support from federal authorities, but the state of Connecticut denied it a key water quality certificate required under the Clean Water Act.  The project would have tunneled under oyster beds near the Thimble Islands.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection says it would have stirred up sediment, killing shellfish. The company has appealed the state’s decision several times. Connecticut Attorney general Richard Blumenthal says today’s supreme court decision to reject the latest appeal, is a death knell for the project

“This court decision should be a signal to the energy industry to choose better projects that do less environmental damage and we will support them. But we will fight as long and as hard as necessary against any project that damages Long Island Sound.”

A spokeswoman for Islander east says the company is disappointed by the Court’s decision and that it’s considering alternative routes to get natural gas to the growing market in New York.