FERC Friday issued a favorable environmental assessment of Inergy subsidiary Central New York Oil and Gas Co.’s (CNYOG) MARC-I Hub Line Project that would allow for the delivery of additional Marcellus Shale and Trenton Black River natural gas to Northeast markets.

“Approval of the proposed project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff said of the project [CP10-480].

The project, which is estimated to cost $200 million, calls for the construction of a 39-mile, 30-inch diameter pipeline in three counties in northeastern Pennsylvania — Bradford, Sullivan and Lycoming — as well as well as the installation of a 15,300-hp Northern Compressor Unit at CNYOG’s NS2 Compressor Station in Bradford County, and a 16,360-hp Southern Compressor Unit at CNYOG’s M1-S Compressor Station in Sullivan County (see Daily GPI, Aug. 10, 2010). The project would have approximately 550,000 Dth/d of firm capacity, and is targeted for service in the fall of 2012, according to the company.

The proposed MARC-I Hub gas transmission line would connect to Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s 300 Line and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s Leidy Line, as well as existing Stagecoach laterals that tie in with Millennium Pipeline. The project would clear the way for gas produced in the northeastern Pennsylvania counties to be stored at CNYOG’s Stagecoach Gas Storage facility near Oswego, NY.

The MARC-I project is one of two complementary efforts the company has in the works that would serve Marcellus Shale production. Construction of the North-South lateral project, which would extend from Millennium south to Stagecoach Storage and then to Tennessee’s Line 300, is expected to go into operation in the second half of this year. The 35-mile line would have capacity of approximately 325,000 Dth/d. The project is supported by long-term contracts.