Third Circuit Court of Appeals holds that interstate bridge authority was exempt from state building regulations

This post was authored by Amy Lavine, Esq.

The Third Circuit held in 2021 that the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission was exempt from Pennsylvania’a building code regulations pursuant to the terms of the interstate compact between Pennsylvania and New Jersey that created the Commission.

As the court explained: “the Compact grants the Commission the authority to acquire property (the Scudder Falls site), the ability to make improvements upon the property (construction of the Administration Building), and the power over “all other matters in connection with . . . [its] facilities” (the operation and maintenance of elevators).”

Del. River Joint Toll Bridge Comm’n v. Sec’y Pa. Dep’t of Labor & Indus., 985 F.3d 189 (3d Cir 1/12/21).