FERC’s Office of Energy Projects (OEP) plans to hold a series ofpublic meetings throughout the nation to encourage interstate gaspipelines to develop “strategies for constructive publicparticipation in the earliest stages” of their project planning.

It hopes a “toolbox of the best options” will emerge from themeetings to help the Commission approve more quickly the interstatepipe projects that are found to be in the “public convenience andnecessity.” The first meeting is scheduled for Sept. 26 in Albany,NY.

“We’re hoping that if we provide a forum for the discussion ofhow best to apply for a certificate that over time we’ll raise thefloor on how those certificates are applied for,” said J. MarkRobinson, OEP’s director of the Division of Environmental &Engineering Review. The goal of this “outreach program” is to makethe processing of pipe project applications at FERC “quicker,cheaper and with better results.”

To accomplish this, he continued, it’s important “to get people[pipeline executives] as early as possible to identify their issuesand not just present them to the Commission, but seek to resolvethem prior to the application being [filed at] theCommission…..We’re trying to move the issue-resolution to asearly a stage of the decision-making process as possible.”

Robinson said the meetings won’t lead to any proceedings atFERC. “That’s not even on our lips…..I guess the only thing thatmight come out of this would be some type of guidance document”addressing the project application process, which could be madeavailable on the Internet.

An Aug. 18 FERC notice, providing the details on the “InterstateNatural Gas Facility-Planning Seminar,” indicated the OEP hasinvited interstate natural gas companies; federal, state and localagencies; landowners and other non-governmental organizationsinterested in “developing a new way of doing business” to attendand give presentations. But pipeline customers weren’t mentioned.That’s because the meetings primarily are for “people that areinvolved in the development and the review and comment in [an]application for a pipeline,” Robinson said. But, he added, “ifcustomers are in that mode, they [also] are invited.”

While the public meetings mostly will focus on the certificationand application process for interstate pipeline projects, “it couldreach over into other areas as well,” Robinson noted.

There will be “interactive ‘brainstorming’ sessions” at theoutreach meetings during which gas pipelines can share theirstrategies to “engage the public and agencies in participatoryproject design,” the notice said. The aim of the OEP seminars isthree-fold: 1) explore ways of resolving issues during a projectapplicant’s pre-filing route planning; 2) examine the “best avenuesfor fostering settlements through creative issue resolution;” and3) reduce FERC’s application processing time by “encouraging thesubmission of filings with no or few contested issues.”

Robinson said at least six public meetings will be held thisyear. Albany was selected as the site for the first meeting because”it’s an area that has a good bit of interest in gas pipelinecertification,” and “there’s likely to be future work in that areaas well.”

The day-long meeting (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.) will take place at theAlbany Marriott, which can be contacted at (518) 458-8444. Thosewho plan to attend or have suggestions for the agenda are advisedto contact FERC by Sept. 8, either by fax to Pennie Louis-Partee at(202) 219-2722 or e-mail at gasoutreach@ferc.fed.us.

The locations of the other meetings will be “selected based onthe history of past, present and especially future pipelineprojects where interstate natural gas markets are developing orexpanding,” the FERC notice said. Other meeting sites beingconsidered include: Tampa or Tallahassee, FL; Wooster, OH; Boston,MA, or Portland, ME; Springfield, IN; Seattle/Puget Sound, WA; andReno/Tahoe, NV, or Salt Lake City, UT.

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