A natural gas pipeline in the Middle Ground Shoal area of Alaska’s Cook Inlet continues to leak, Operator Hilcorp Alaska LLC said Wednesday. The company, state and federal agencies are still working on a fix. Hilcorp continues to maintain a lowered operating pressure in the line to prevent water intrusion. The reduction in line pressure has reduced the release rate to approximately 229 Mcf/d, the company said. Hilcorp has been conducting air and water quality sampling and is working with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to implement a more comprehensive plan to monitor fish and wildlife, air and water quality, sound and ice conditions. To date, no significant impacts to wildlife or the environment have been observed, and the release does not pose a threat the general public, the company said. Once conditions allow, repair operations are expected to take several days.

The city of Presidio, TX, plans to construct a lateral from the Trans-Pecos Pipeline to deliver natural gas to a new industrial park. Trans-Pecos is under construction and nearing completion. The project has drawn protests from locals opposed to pipeline development in the region as well as out-of-state protesters. West Texas Gas Inc. has made a preliminary commitment to construct, own and operate a six-inch diameter, 11-mile lateral pipeline. Trans-Pecos Pipeline LLC, which is a joint venture owned in part by an affiliate of Energy Transfer Partners LP, will help offset lateral construction costs and provide a tap to access gas at the Trans-Pecos meter station near the Texas-Mexico border. The lateral will initially terminate at the industrial park and will supply gas to the Biad Chili plant currently under construction. “After the 1998 acquisition of our transmission pipeline system serving the Fort Davis community and surrounding greenhouses, along with the Cities of Balmorhea, Marfa and Alpine; West Texas Gas has searched for ways to serve the market along the Presidio-Ojinaga border,” said West Texas Gas President Richard Hatchett. The lateral is expected to be in service by June.

APV Renaissance Partners Opco LLC, a subsidiary of New Jersey-based American Power Ventures LLC, wants to redevelop a large coal-fired power plant that was closed in 2013 to burn natural gas. APV has announced a public hearing on April 5 to discuss its proposal. The company is reportedly planning to file a permit for the natural gas combined cycle facility with state regulators in the next month. FirstEnergy Corp. closed the 1,710 MW Hatfield’s Ferry power plant for financial reasons. APV’s proposal is the latest in a rush to build more gas-fired power plants throughout the PJM Interconnection market. In particular, cheap gas in the Appalachian Basin has prompted developers to make plans for dozens of new plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.