FERC has issued favorable environmental reviews for Northwest Pipeline’s Sundance Trail Expansion Project in Colorado and Wyoming, and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line’s (Transco) project in New Jersey.

If Northwest and Transco comply with the recommended mitigation measures, the proposed facilities “would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment,” FERC staff concluded in separate environmental assessments (EA) on the projects.

The Sundance Trail Expansion Project would provide an incremental 150,000 Dth/d of firm transportation capacity from the Greasewood and Meeker/White River hubs in the Piceance Basin in Rio Blanco County, CO, to an interconnect with Kern River Gas Transmission at the Opal Hub in Lincoln County, WY, where natural gas could be transported to Utah, southern Nevada and Southern California markets, the EA said [CP09-415]. In May Northwest reported that it had entered into a precedent agreement with affiliate Williams Gas Marketing Inc. for the full 150,000 Dth/d of expansion capacity (see Daily GPI, May 21).

Northwest, a Williams pipeline, proposed the expansion to move additional gas supplies being produced in the Piceance Basin to the Opal Hub, a liquid supply hub with access to six interstate pipeline. Northwest told the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that the Piceance Basin continues to be one of the fastest growing gas production fields in the Rockies region.

The expansion calls for the construction of approximately 15.5 miles of 30-inch diameter mainline loop in Lincoln County, and the installation of 3,980 hp of new compression at Vernal Compressor Station in Uintah County, UT. Northwest also seeks to replace two compressor units at Vernal with new compression facilities, as well as make minor modifications.

The pipeline has called on FERC to issue a certificate by no later than Jan. 29, 2010 so that the expansion project can be in service by the start of the winter heating season on Nov. 1, 2010. It also asked FERC to approve a predetermination to roll in the costs of the expansion into its next Section 4 rate proceeding.

The Transco project includes the conversion of 5.41 miles of pipeline to natural gas use and the construction of two small laterals to provide service to the $400 million Bayonne Energy Center (BEC), a 512 MW simple-cycle power plant that will be built in Bayonne, NJ (see Daily GPI, Jan. 8). The BEC, to be constructed by Pure Energy Resources (owned by the United Kingdom’s BG Group), would serve New York City through three new 6.75-mile 345-kV submarine transmission lines, which will cross New York Harbor to an interconnect with the ConEdison Gowanus substation in Brooklyn, NY.

Transco’s proposed Bayonne Delivery Lateral would provide 125,000 Dth/d of natural gas to BEC for use in the generation of electric power [CP09-417] . The BEC project currently is being reviewed for consideration by several regulatory and economic development agencies in New Jersey and New York, according to FERC.

If Pure Energy obtains all necessary permits and authorizations by this fall, construction could begin and the BEC project could be operation by late 2011, according to the FERC EA.

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