FERC on Friday issued letter orders to advance a trio of natural gas pipeline projects in the Appalachian Basin.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Columbia Gas Transmission LLC (CGT), a TransCanada Corp. affiliate, permission to enter the Elk River Compressor Station into service to support its Mountaineer XPress Project [CP16-357]. Elk River, in Kanawha County, WV, was constructed as part of CGT’s WB XPress Project [CP16-38], and was given authorization by the Commission to enter service for the latter project on Thursday.

FERC approved a CGT request to increase the initial monthly incremental recourse reservation rate on Mountaineer XPress last August, and issued a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the project in January. It is expected to enter service late this year.

Mountaineer XPress would add 164.5 miles of 36-inch diameter pipe and six miles of 24-inch diameter pipe to expand CGT’s system. It would add about 2.7 Bcf/d of capacity to the Columbia Gas system and is designed to allow additional volumes of Marcellus and Utica shale gas to reach markets in the Midwest, Northeast, South and Gulf Coast.

In a second letter order, FERC approved a variance request by Rover Pipeline LLC for 0.3 acres of temporary workspace in Monroe County, OH, to repair an off-right-of-way slip and to retrieve sediments associated with the Rover Pipeline Project [CP15-93]. The workspace is along the 42-inch diameter Seneca Lateral.

Last month, Rover asked for FERC authorization to start service on two final supply laterals, Sherwood and CGT, to support the 3.25 Bcf/d Appalachian takeaway project. FERC gave authorization for two additional Rover laterals, Burgettstown and Majorsville, to enter service last August.

FERC also approved, in a third letter order, a request by Dominion Energy Transmission Inc. to use 0.24 acres in Doddridge County, WV, as additional temporary workspace for truck turn-arounds at its 1.5 million Dth/d Supply Header Project (SHP) [CP15-555]. SHP includes about 37.5 miles of pipeline looping and modifications to existing compressor stations in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, and is related to work on the embattled Atlantic Coast Pipeline.