Contested

A hotly contested route alternative that calls for theCanada-to-New York Millennium Pipeline to be built within anelectric transmission system’s right-of-way (ROW) in WestchesterCounty, NY, is a “viable option” provided state regulators and thepipeline can work out the construction details, according to asupplemental draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) issued byFERC staff last week.

A hotly contested route alternative that calls for theCanada-to-New York Millennium Pipeline to be built within anelectric transmission system’s right-of-way (ROW) in WestchesterCounty, NY, is a “viable option” provided state regulators and thepipeline can work out the construction details, according to asupplemental draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) issued byFERC staff last week.

While long-distance tolls continue to be hotly contested,TransCanada PipeLines Ltd. succeeded in reaching a settlement onkey basics that will let it set 2001-02 rates without a fight forits Nova grid in Alberta.

Next Wednesday’s FERC meeting promises to be a blockbuster. TheCommission has placed the hotly contested SupplyLink-IndependencePipeline-MarketLink projects on the agenda, essentially thumbingits nose at New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman’s request for a60-day delay [CP97-319, CP97-315, CP98-540].

A showdown that was brewing between FERC and New Jersey Gov.Christine Todd Whitman over the hotly contested MarketLinkexpansion was defused late last week when Chairman James Hoeckerblinked. On Thursday, Hoecker had said the Commission intended toproceed with a vote on MarketLink despite Whitman’s threat that thestate would sue if the project was approved. But he did a completeabout-face the following day by pulling the MarketLink,Independence Pipeline and SupplyLink projects from the agenda forTuesday’s pre-Thanksgiving meeting. A FERC statement simply saidthe orders wouldn’t be completed in time.

Texas Eastern Transmission (Tetco) has called on FERC to holdoff final action on the hotly-contested Independence Pipeline andMarketLink expansion projects, citing problems with the Commissionstaff’s final environmental impact statement (FEIS) that found bothto be acceptable.

FERC yesterday approved, subject to modifications, a majorcontested settlement that outlines how Natural Gas Pipeline Co. ofAmerica (NGPL) will auction off long- and short-term transportationcapacity on its system. Although the Commission stressed theNatural auction shouldn’t be considered a blueprint for theproposed auction procedures that are now being considered forindustry-wide use, the decision does provide a sneak preview intoFERC’s thinking on the issue.

Amoco’s objections and its standing as a major customer ofTrailblazer Pipeline have made it impossible for the Federal EnergyRegulatory Commission to approve a settlement on new rates, FERCsaid in dumping the dilemma back in the lap of an administrativelaw judge.