FERC staff Friday gave a final environmental nod to Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP’s proposal to build its East Texas-to-Mississippi Expansion Project that would provide significant takeaway capacity for producers in the prolific Barnett Shale and Bossier Sands trends of East Texas. The favorable action puts Gulf South one step away from receiving a certificate.

“If the proposed project is found to be in the public interest and is constructed and operated in accordance with Gulf South’s proposed minimization and mitigation measures as well as its recommended mitigation measures, the proposed facilities would have limited adverse environmental impacts,” FERC staff said in its final environmental impact statement on the project [CP06-446].

The project calls for the construction of about 242 miles of high-pressure pipeline that would connect its existing system in DeSoto Parish in northern Louisiana to its 30-inch diameter pipeline in Simpson County, MS, as well as the addition of 110,604 hp of new compression. The project would be capable of transporting up to 1.7 Bcf/d of gas from the pipeline-constrained production areas in Texas to interconnects with other interstate pipelines for delivery in the Midwest, Northeast and Southeast.

Gulf South, a subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipelines LLC, proposes to install two compressor stations, the Vixen and the Tallulah Compressor Stations, in Ouachita and Madison Parishes, LA, respectively, and make modifications to three existing compressor stations in Panola County, TX, Bienville Parish, LA, and Walthall County, MS.

The project is expected to be in service this fall.

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