The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said last Thursday that a final decision on whether to revoke a certificate allowing Williams to reactivate and expand its Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal plant in Maryland won’t be made until late January.

Chairman Pat Wood earlier had said he wanted the Commission to decide the matter before the end of the year, but the latest order indicates that the agency doesn’t expect to issue a ruling until Jan. 22. Cove Point LNG is listed on the agenda for FERC’s Dec. 19 meeting, leading many to believe that the Commission would act on it then.

The issue before FERC is whether to rescind the certificate order to re-open the LNG import facility in Lusby, MD, given its close proximity to the Constellation Energy-owned nuclear facility at Calvert Cliffs, MD. The Commission agreed to reconsider its Oct. 12 decision after Maryland Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski denounced the agency’s post-Sept. 11 certificate approval for the LNG facility, saying it would permit “flammable” LNG to be imported to a site within four miles of the nuclear facility in her state.

The Democratic lawmaker called it a “nightmare scenario.” The Commission called a technical conference last month to listen to the national security concerns of “interested parties” and “indicated agencies.”

The FERC certificate gives Williams the green light to re-start the Cove Point plant’s LNG import services by April 1, 2002, and to begin construction of a fifth LNG storage tanker to boost capacity to 7.8 Bcf. The 850,000-barrel tank has an in-service date of Sept. 1, 2003. The $103 million project would make Cove Point one of the top LNG import terminals in the nation.

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