Just when it was expecting to see the light at the end of a long tunnel, Millennium Pipeline suffered another setback last week. Although it was able to come to an agreement with the city of Mount Vernon, NY, over a key routing issue, setting the stage for a final green light from FERC after five years of review, pipeline officials ran into trouble pushing the New York State Department’s (DOS) Division of Coastal Resources for a final decision on its route through sensitive Haverstraw Bay on the Hudson River.

Secretary of State Randy A. Daniels said the DOS determined that the proposed route for Millennium is “inconsistent with the policies of the New York State Coastal Management Program.” The 442-mile gas pipeline, as proposed, would transport up to 700,000 Dth/d of gas across Lake Erie and New York’s Southern Tier to Consolidated Edison’s distribution system at a connection in Mount Vernon in Westchester County.

“As proposed, the pipeline project is simply not consistent with Gov. Pataki’s firm commitment to protecting the Hudson River and the state’s critical coastal resources,” said Daniels. He said Millennium sponsors now can either revise their proposal or appeal the determination to the U.S. secretary of commerce.

The DOS has been sitting on the project’s application since 1997 despite a statutory limitation for review of only six months. When Millennium officials on Thursday told the DOS its time definitely was up, they got a quick note back rejecting the project’s route across the Hudson.

Millennium officials said they now intend to appeal the ruling to the Commerce Department, which will take at least 180 days to make its decision. Construction currently is set to begin next spring, so the project could remain on schedule if the Commerce Department grants its appeal, said spokesman Karl Brack.

“Frankly, this moves the process forward,” said Brack.

“We feel there’s a very strong and substantive record that shows that all the alternatives have been analyzed and that this routing as proposed has been evaluated by a host of agencies from FERC to the [state Department of Environmental Conservation] and that this is the best alternative. [FERC] in weighing the same alternatives made a determination that they would create more environmental impact to use the other alternatives and in fact the route they ultimately certified was the preferred route. We agree.”

Millennium said Thursday that it reached agreement with city leaders on a revised route through Mount Vernon that will lead to a new connection with Con Edison’s distribution system. The Mount Vernon route dispute had been the major hurdle for the project. FERC issued Millennium an interim certificate in December on condition that it resolve the routing dispute and obtain required state approvals.

The new route in Mount Vernon relocates the line away from a residential area to a more industrial and commercial area of the city. “We believe this new route responds directly to a number of concerns Mount Vernon city officials and residents raised about the project, while still addressing this region’s need for new economical sources of clean energy,” said Millennium Chairman David Pentzien.

The revised route was forged during a series of meetings and negotiations under the guidance of FERC’s dispute resolution service. The discussions involved the major, city council, citizens and Millennium and ConEdison representatives.

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