The Columbia Energy-NiSource marriage won’t kill the Millenniumpipeline project nor will strong opposition to its pipeline routein New York, Millennium Pipeline Chairman David Pentzien said lastweek in a letter to FERC’s Daniel M. Adamson, director of theOffice of Energy Projects.

In March, Adamson requested a status report on the $650 millionpipeline in light of criticism from New York regulators andcomments made by NiSource Chairman Gary Neale about the project(see Daily GPI, March 24). The 442-mile project would bring about714 MMcf/d of gas from Canada under Lake Erie to the New Yorkmetropolitan area.

“First and foremost, I want to assure you and the Commissionthat Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation and its three partnersin the Millennium partnership remain firmly committed to thefinancing of the project,” said Pentzien. “It is true that NiSourceis reviewing the project, as it should, but I have been authorizedby NiSource to advise the Commission that NiSource fully supportsboth Columbia’s continued participation in the project and theCommission’s prompt approval of Millennium’s certificateapplication.”

Last month during a conference call on the proposedColumbia-NiSource merger, Neale stated his concerns about theproject’s route and questioned the need for such a major pipelinewhen NiSource’s own Crossroads Pipeline could serve growing demandin the Northeast with a much smaller expansion project and at afraction of the cost of Millennium (see Daily GPI, March 6).

Adamson also expressed concern about the opposition from the NewYork Public Service Commission and the New York State ReliabilityCouncil to the proposed construction along Consolidated Edison’selectric transmission right-of-way in Westchester County, NY. Thereliability council noted in filed comments with FERC that the 345kV transmission corridor “happens to be the most important and mostcritical electric power interconnection between the major loadcenter of New York City and the rest of the easterninterconnection.” It has six 345 kV high voltage transmission linesand a total thermal capacity of 5,000 MW.

In his letter, Pentzien said an alternative route in WestchesterCounty had been identified that may meet the PSC’s safety concernsif certain mitigating measures identified by the PSC are adopted byMillennium. The sponsors plan to file the revised route with theCommission in the next few weeks, he said, requesting that therevision not hold up the Commission’s plan to issue a finalenvironmental impact statement. He requests the Commission “reservejudgment on the Westchester County route,” until the revision isfiled and analyzed.

Regarding opposition from the National Marine Fisheries Service(NMFS) to the proposed crossing of the Hudson River in HaverstrawBay, Pentzien referred the Commission to an April 7 lettersubmitted by the New York Department of State. The letter confirmsthat the New York Coastal Management Program does not prohibit newconstruction in Haverstraw Bay, contrary to the NMFS’s claims. Hesaid Millennium still is discussing NMFS’s claim that theHaverstraw Bay crossing proposed by Millennium would seriouslydamage an ecologically sensitive area.

Pentzien said $40 million has been spent on the pipeline projectalready and not a single piece of pipe has been laid. He noted thatthe project recently received multiple state and federal permitsand urged the Commission issue its FEIS soon to assist otheragencies in completing their final project reviews.

Rocco Canonica

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