Illinois wants Spire to show it shouldn’t be held in contempt over its embattled pipeline

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has filed a show cause petition against the Spire STL Pipeline in the St. Louis region.

The filing last month in Greene County Circuit Court asks that a judge order Spire to appear and demonstrate why it should not be held in contempt.

“It’s not a common occurrence by any means,” said Gillian Giannetti, a senior attorney with the nonprofit environmental advocacy group NRDC. “Most pipelines that are built do not … do so in a way that could raise questions about whether these environmental laws and expectations have been broken.”

In its petition, Illinois said Spire failed to comply with a consent order from 2021 requiring that it place proper measures against erosion. The state alleges the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency observed active erosion at multiple properties occurring as a result of Spire’s reclamation work associated with the pipeline project.

“Defendant Spire’s failure to implement or maintain adequate erosion control measures is causing, threatening, or allowing discharges of contaminants — including but not limited to silt, sand, sediment, vegetation, riprap, and construction debris — into waters of the State” in violation of state law, the petition reads.

The filing lists many other violations of Illinois state law.