According to StateImpact and the Pike County Courier, on March 22, 2013, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued a permit to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGPC) for wetland, stream, and river crossings associated with its Northeast Upgrade Project. Despite opposition from environmental groups and local citizens, regulators at the Army Corps’ Philadelphia District determined that the proposed work is not contrary to the public interest.
The Project aims to increase the capacity on TGPC’s Line 300 by constructing 40 miles of new pipeline in Pennsylvania and New Jersey and modifying four compressor stations. As indicated in a March 2011 Economic Report by Rutgers University, the Project will create 1,100 job years, $37.8M in income for local labor, and $51.4M in GDP in Pennsylvania, as well as $12.2M in federal tax revenues, $1.9M in state tax revenues, and $2.1M in local tax revenues. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the Project in May 2012. FERC is the lead federal agency for the Project.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette provides coverage today on the race to ship natural gas liquids (NGLs) from Pennsylvania to the Gulf Coast. As indicated in the story, several companies have announced plans to build or convert pipelines to transport NGLs from the Marcellus and Utica to facilities in Beaumont and Mount Belvieu, Texas. The story also discusses the potential impact of the petrochemical facility that Royal Dutch Shell may build in Beaver County, Pennsylvania.
According to recent press reports, President Judge Joseph F. Kameen of the Pike County (Pennsylvania) Court of Common Pleas has granted an injunction to prevent protestors from interfering with the construction of a gas pipeline in northeastern Pennsylvania. The proponent of the project, Tennessee Gas Pipeline, L.L.C., received a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build the pipeline last year, and the line is projected to be in service by November 1, 2013.
On March 11, 2013, Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Reese introduced legislation that would require a new disclosure statement in easements for certain natural gas pipelines. The legislation, House Bill No. 904, specifically provides that “[a]ny easement agreement for a natural gas pipeline, other than a natural gas pipeline operated by a public utility regulated by the commission and used to provide retail natural gas service to end-use customers, entered into or otherwise obtained after the effective date of this section shall include a disclosure statement identifying the natural gas pipeline’s potential impact radius and potential impact circle.” The terms “potential impact radius” and “potential impact circle” are defined by referencing the definitions already established in the minimum federal safety standards for gas pipeline facilities.
In what appears to be a first in Pennsylvania, on March 11, 2013, Forward Township in Allegheny County enacted an ordinance specifically targeting and extensively regulating both transmission and gathering pipelines. While the ordinance is technically not a zoning ordinance, it imposes an approval process similar to a conditional use whereby an application is reviewed by the Township Planning Commission and approved by the Board of Supervisors, which may place any conditions or restrictions on the permit that the Board determines is necessary for the public health and safety. In addition to a detailed application, the ordinance requires an application fee of $3,000 per mile of pipeline proposed (up to $15,000) and, upon approval by the Board, a performance bond of $25,000 per mile of pipeline. The operator must also provide the Township with an escrow or letter of credit in the amount of $50,000 for the closure and abandonment of the pipeline for any restoration of the property, air or environment where the pipeline is located. The ordinance probably is preempted by a number of state and Federal statutes.
On March 8, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order authorizing Dominion Transmission, Inc.’s requests to build two new pipeline projects in New York and Pennsylvania. The two projects are the Tioga Area Expansion Project, which will include 15 miles of new 24-inch diameter pipeline in Tioga, Greene, Potter, and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania, as well as Steuben County, New York, and the Sabinsville to Morrisville Project, which will include 3.56-miles of new 24-inch diameter pipeline and additional facilities in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. FERC’s authorization is conditioned upon Dominion placing the projects into service within two years.
The Secretary of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) published a letter in the March 9, 2013 issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin containing information on the annual registration requirements for pipeline operators under the Gas and Hazardous Liquids Pipelines Act. The Act, more commonly known as Act 127, provides PUC with the authority to regulate gas and hazardous liquid pipelines that are not operated by public utilities. As explained in the letter, PUC is requiring Act 127 pipeline operators to submit a registration form by March 31, 2013, as well as a $250 annual registration fee. The form is to include information on the total amount of regulated pipeline mileage as of December 31, 2012, which will then be used to determine the amount of user fees that will be assessed for each operator in an invoice that PUC intends to send to each operator later in the year.