Seaboard

A month after obtaining a conditional, preliminary environmental approval for a Nova Scotia location for the first natural gas storage site on the Atlantic seaboard north of Boston, the proposal’s Calgary sponsor has enlarged on the idea by adding a pipeline concept, named the Atlantic Connector Gas Pipeline.

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.