Dive Brief:
- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted developers of the Constitution Pipeline an additional two years to complete construction, recognizing delays in New York where rejection of a water permit pushed back development, SNL Energy reports.
- Williams, Cabot Oil & Gas, Piedmont Natural Gas and WGL Holdings have all partnered to connect Appalachian gas with Northeast markets, but say they will be unable to have the pipeline in service by the end of this year.
- In April, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) denied developers' application for a water quality certification under the Clean Water Act.
Dive Insight:
The Constitution Pipeline was approved in 2014 and developers were given two years to bring the system online, but difficulties with New York construction approvals have set the project back. Difficulties in getting authorization to remove trees set the pipeline back by a year, and then in the spring, the state denied the water certification.
"NYSDEC’s decision has caused the Constitution Pipeline Project to be delayed, and, as a result, Constitution will not be able to complete construction of the project within the prescribed time frame," FERC Division of Pipeline Certificates Director John Wood acknowledged in a letter.
The pipeline consortium's request for additional time was approved almost instantly, SNL reports. The companies filed a request for two more years on July 22, and Wood's letter was issued just four days later.
The project aims to move 650,000 dekatherms of natural gas per each day from Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania, to the Iroquois Gas Transmission and Tennessee Gas Pipeline systems in Schoharie County, New York.
The pipeline has been in the planning stages since 2012; FERC approved the project in 2014.
