Protection

Despite arguments to the contrary by an El Paso Corp. affiliate, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week ruled that liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification performed on floating vessels in the Gulf of Mexico will be held to the same clean air and clean water regulations as fixed-structure LNG facilities.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s New Source Review (NSR) routine maintenance rule, which was issued last month, may remove some of the emission requirement burdens from utilities, but it could play havoc with natural gas markets and send prices “much lower than currently expected,” according to a new study by Strategic Energy and Economic Research Inc. (SEER).

The Environmental Protection Agency’s New Source Review (NSR) routine maintenance rule, which was issued last month, may remove some of the emission requirement burdens from utilities, but it could play havoc with natural gas markets and send prices “much lower than currently expected,” according to a new study by Strategic Energy and Economic Research Inc. (SEER).

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week issued a controversial equipment replacement provision to the Clean Air Act’s New Source Review (NSR) permitting program, which could allow an estimated 17,000 power plants, refineries, chemical plants, pulp and paper mills and other industries to replace equipment without installing more emission controls — even if the new equipment increases pollution.

Dominion has reached a $1.2 billion agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and five states under which the electric utility will install state-of-the-art emissions control equipment on its largest coal-fired generating units in Virginia and West Virginia.

MRT said a System Protection Warning will become effective at the start of Friday’s gas day. The warning’s conditions are identical to those of one posted on Christmas Eve (see Daily GPI, Dec. 24, 2002).

MRT posted a System Protection Warning that becomes effective with the start of Tuesday’s gas day. It is subject to these conditions: MRT will not schedule any Main Line IT, AOR or imbalance volumes for delivery north of Glendale, AR; firm volumes will be limited to their primary direction of flow; MRT is not accepting short imbalance positions; and shippers may not nominate supply from existing long imbalance positions. Saying it has capacity available on the East Line, MRT urged shippers who were relying on Main Line IT, AOR and/or imbalance volumes to re-source supply to the East Line or reduce applicable delivery volumes in order to avoid customer-specific OFOs.

Effective with the start of Tuesday’s gas day, MRT is posting a System Protection Warning subject to these conditions: (1) MRT will not schedule any Main Line IT, AOR (authorized overrun) or imbalance volumes for delivery north of Glendale, AR; (2) firm volumes will be limited to their primary direction of flow; (3) MRT is not accepting short imbalance positions; and (4) shippers may not nominate supply from existing long imbalance positions. Saying it has capacity available on the East Line, MRT urged shippers who were relying on Main Line IT, AOR and/or imbalance volumes to re-source supply to the East Line or reduce applicable delivery volumes in order to avoid OFOs.

A group of industrial gas customers last week called on FERC to “reject outright” Northern Natural Gas Co.’s proposed tariff changes that seek to inoculate the pipeline against credit-risky shippers.