Reports related to this article:
Project(s): View 5 related projects in PECWeb
Plant(s): View 2 related plants in PECWeb
Released April 18, 2017 | SUGAR LAND
en
Written by John Egan for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--When it comes to 11th-hour regulatory decisions, the proposed Northern Access Pipeline has won one and lost one. The interstate natural gas pipeline project was granted a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (Washington, D.C.) in early February, a few days before that agency lost its quorum, which prevents the commission from making regulatory decisions. But at 11:22 p.m. on April 7, 38 minutes before a New York State agency was legally required to accept or reject a permit application for the $455 million Northern Access Pipeline project, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) (Albany, New York) faxed its permit denial to Northern Access' developer, National Fuel Gas Company (NYSE:NFG) (Williamsville, New York). In denying the permit, the DEC cited concerns about its potential impacts on wetlands, streams, fish and other wildlife.
No one is quite sure if the DEC's decision will kill the proposed 100-mile pipeline, which was designed to transport up to 300 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (300MMcf/d) from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to western New York. A spokesperson for National Fuel Gas declined to say if the company would try to litigate the DEC's decision. A spokesperson for the DEC declined to say if the agency's decision could be litigated.
When initially proposed in in late 2014, the expectation was that construction of the Northern Access pipeline would begin in the spring of 2016 and the project would be operating in May 2017. All of that was based on the company's ability to secure the requisite permits from state and federal agencies. For more on the project's winning a permit from FERC, see February 7, 2017, article - Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Gain Last-Minute Approvals by FERC.
Earlier this year, public meetings in western New York about the proposed pipeline drew hundreds of people, both supporters and opponents, according to local news media coverage. Reaction to the DEC's April 7 denial split along familiar lines: environmental organizations and landowner groups welcomed the decision, for different reasons, while the developer and those who stood to benefit from its construction criticized the DEC's decision.
In announcing its decision, the DEC wrote, "After an in-depth review of the proposed Northern Access Pipeline project and following three public hearings and the consideration of over 5,700 comments, DEC has denied the permit due to the project's failure to avoid adverse impacts to wetlands, streams, and fish and other wildlife habitat. We are confident that this decision supports our state's strict water quality standards that all New Yorkers depend on."
Responding to the DEC permit denial, Ronald J. Tanski, president and chief executive of National Fuel Gas, said this in a statement issued April 10: "While we are still analyzing the NYS DEC's rationale, the denial is purportedly based upon NYS DEC's determination that ... construction activities will impermissibly affect the quality of waters in the state, notwithstanding voluminous detailed studies prepared and submitted by the companies and our consultants that show any such effects are temporary and minor."
Beyond the question of what's next for this proposed pipeline, the New York agency's action made some wonder if any pipeline--particularly those carrying natural gas extracted via hydraulic fracturing--could be approved by the Empire State. Governor Andrew Cuomo has led the effort to revamp the state's energy strategy, including measures that de-emphasize central station power plants, grow renewable generation, expedite transmission projects, cut greenhouse gas emissions, increase the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and boost energy efficiency programs and distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar generation. That initiative, Reforming the Energy Vision (REV), was launched in 2015. For more on that program, see April 15, 2015, article - New York Aims High for Renewable Energy and January 17, 2017, article - New York Bolsters Investments in Clean Energy, Power Transmission.
Shortly before announcing the REV initiative, the Cuomo administration made New York the first state in the country to ban hydraulic fracturing. For more on that issue, see December 23, 2014, article - New York Becomes First State to Ban Hydraulic Fracturing. New York sits atop the northern portion of the Marcellus Shale formation, the Pennsylvania and West Virginia portion of which contained 72.7 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves at the end of 2015, according to "U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Yearend 2015," a report prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (Washington, D.C.). New York's so-called southern tier, which abuts the Pennsylvania state line, had for years been viewed as a potentially significant source of oil and gas production.
DEC officials would not comment on allegations about their views on pipelines carrying hydraulically fracked gas. A source at the agency said it "carefully reviews all interstate pipeline applications that come before the agency, and considers their impacts on a case by case basis." That source added the DEC granted a water permit to the Millennium Pipeline, though that took place years before Cuomo became governor.
Millennium is a 244-mile replacement of an existing pipeline that had been owned by Columbia Pipeline Group. The pipeline replacement project, which did win DEC approval, began operating in 2008. Governor Cuomo took office in 2011. The Millennium Pipeline is owned by affiliates of DTE Energy Company (NYSE:DTE) (Detroit, Michigan), National Grid Plc (NYSE:NGG) (London, England) and Columbia Pipeline Group (Houston, Texas). Last year, Columbia was acquired by TransCanada Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (Calgary, Alberta).
In April 2016, the DEC denied a water permit for the proposed Constitution Natural Gas Pipeline project, which was developed to bring gas from the Marcellus Shale to New York and New England. The Constitution project, a $925 million effort, would stretch for about 120 miles and was designed to carry up to 650 MMcf/d of natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to New York and New England. The project, which received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (Washington, D.C.) in 2014, remains on hold following the adverse decision by the New York agency last year. For more on that project, and other Northeastern pipelines that have experienced delays and problems securing the necessary permits, see April 8, 2015, article - Developers Delay, Cancel Gas Projects in U.S. Northeast and April 29, 2016, article - Low Commodity Prices Kill, Stall North American Pipeline Projects.
An industry source interviewed by Industrial Info claimed Cuomo has an animus against pipelines, particularly those carrying gas extracted by hydraulic fracturing.
President Donald Trump's executive actions supporting energy infrastructure, notably the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline, has led some pipeline supporters to think he could intervene to jumpstart the Constitution pipeline project, according to a report in the Albany Business Review. For more on President Trump's commitment to expediting regulatory review of infrastructure projects, see January 31, 2017, article - Trump Orders Benefit KXL, DAPL and Other 'High Priority' Infrastructure Projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
No one is quite sure if the DEC's decision will kill the proposed 100-mile pipeline, which was designed to transport up to 300 million cubic feet of natural gas per day (300MMcf/d) from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania to western New York. A spokesperson for National Fuel Gas declined to say if the company would try to litigate the DEC's decision. A spokesperson for the DEC declined to say if the agency's decision could be litigated.
When initially proposed in in late 2014, the expectation was that construction of the Northern Access pipeline would begin in the spring of 2016 and the project would be operating in May 2017. All of that was based on the company's ability to secure the requisite permits from state and federal agencies. For more on the project's winning a permit from FERC, see February 7, 2017, article - Natural Gas Pipeline Projects Gain Last-Minute Approvals by FERC.
Earlier this year, public meetings in western New York about the proposed pipeline drew hundreds of people, both supporters and opponents, according to local news media coverage. Reaction to the DEC's April 7 denial split along familiar lines: environmental organizations and landowner groups welcomed the decision, for different reasons, while the developer and those who stood to benefit from its construction criticized the DEC's decision.
In announcing its decision, the DEC wrote, "After an in-depth review of the proposed Northern Access Pipeline project and following three public hearings and the consideration of over 5,700 comments, DEC has denied the permit due to the project's failure to avoid adverse impacts to wetlands, streams, and fish and other wildlife habitat. We are confident that this decision supports our state's strict water quality standards that all New Yorkers depend on."
Responding to the DEC permit denial, Ronald J. Tanski, president and chief executive of National Fuel Gas, said this in a statement issued April 10: "While we are still analyzing the NYS DEC's rationale, the denial is purportedly based upon NYS DEC's determination that ... construction activities will impermissibly affect the quality of waters in the state, notwithstanding voluminous detailed studies prepared and submitted by the companies and our consultants that show any such effects are temporary and minor."
Beyond the question of what's next for this proposed pipeline, the New York agency's action made some wonder if any pipeline--particularly those carrying natural gas extracted via hydraulic fracturing--could be approved by the Empire State. Governor Andrew Cuomo has led the effort to revamp the state's energy strategy, including measures that de-emphasize central station power plants, grow renewable generation, expedite transmission projects, cut greenhouse gas emissions, increase the state's renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and boost energy efficiency programs and distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar generation. That initiative, Reforming the Energy Vision (REV), was launched in 2015. For more on that program, see April 15, 2015, article - New York Aims High for Renewable Energy and January 17, 2017, article - New York Bolsters Investments in Clean Energy, Power Transmission.
Shortly before announcing the REV initiative, the Cuomo administration made New York the first state in the country to ban hydraulic fracturing. For more on that issue, see December 23, 2014, article - New York Becomes First State to Ban Hydraulic Fracturing. New York sits atop the northern portion of the Marcellus Shale formation, the Pennsylvania and West Virginia portion of which contained 72.7 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves at the end of 2015, according to "U.S. Crude Oil and Natural Gas Proved Reserves, Yearend 2015," a report prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) (Washington, D.C.). New York's so-called southern tier, which abuts the Pennsylvania state line, had for years been viewed as a potentially significant source of oil and gas production.
DEC officials would not comment on allegations about their views on pipelines carrying hydraulically fracked gas. A source at the agency said it "carefully reviews all interstate pipeline applications that come before the agency, and considers their impacts on a case by case basis." That source added the DEC granted a water permit to the Millennium Pipeline, though that took place years before Cuomo became governor.
Millennium is a 244-mile replacement of an existing pipeline that had been owned by Columbia Pipeline Group. The pipeline replacement project, which did win DEC approval, began operating in 2008. Governor Cuomo took office in 2011. The Millennium Pipeline is owned by affiliates of DTE Energy Company (NYSE:DTE) (Detroit, Michigan), National Grid Plc (NYSE:NGG) (London, England) and Columbia Pipeline Group (Houston, Texas). Last year, Columbia was acquired by TransCanada Corporation (NYSE:TRP) (Calgary, Alberta).
In April 2016, the DEC denied a water permit for the proposed Constitution Natural Gas Pipeline project, which was developed to bring gas from the Marcellus Shale to New York and New England. The Constitution project, a $925 million effort, would stretch for about 120 miles and was designed to carry up to 650 MMcf/d of natural gas from northeastern Pennsylvania to New York and New England. The project, which received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (Washington, D.C.) in 2014, remains on hold following the adverse decision by the New York agency last year. For more on that project, and other Northeastern pipelines that have experienced delays and problems securing the necessary permits, see April 8, 2015, article - Developers Delay, Cancel Gas Projects in U.S. Northeast and April 29, 2016, article - Low Commodity Prices Kill, Stall North American Pipeline Projects.
An industry source interviewed by Industrial Info claimed Cuomo has an animus against pipelines, particularly those carrying gas extracted by hydraulic fracturing.
President Donald Trump's executive actions supporting energy infrastructure, notably the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Dakota Access Pipeline, has led some pipeline supporters to think he could intervene to jumpstart the Constitution pipeline project, according to a report in the Albany Business Review. For more on President Trump's commitment to expediting regulatory review of infrastructure projects, see January 31, 2017, article - Trump Orders Benefit KXL, DAPL and Other 'High Priority' Infrastructure Projects.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.
