Waiver

FERC dealt another blow to the long-delayed Constitution Pipeline on Thursday, denying a petition for a declaratory order that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) waived its authority when it failed to issue a water quality certification (WQC) within a reasonable period of time.

FERC is weighing in officially on New York’s stance against natural gas, issuing an order on Friday that found the state waived its authority to issue a decision on Millennium Pipeline Co. LLC’s water quality certification (WQC) for the Valley Lateral Project because it took too long.

In a filing earlier this month, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) asked FERC to deny a request by independent power generators for relief from spiked winter gas prices that they had requested two days before (see Daily GPI, March 7).

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s energy executive said “it’s not surprising or alarming” that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has never denied an operator’s request for a waiver to the stream and wetland setback requirements enshrined in Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved El Paso Natural Gas pipeline’s request for a waiver of $6 million in penalties incurred by its shippers during a major chill in the Southwest last February, which forced El Paso to declare an emergency on its system. El Paso told FERC that its shippers had incurred $6.9 million in penalties during the first week of February, but it didn’t believe that all warranted waivers. The pipeline said it would adjust shipper invoices within 45 days of the Commission order. FERC agreed with El Paso’s position that even though penalties were being waived, the shipper would still be an “offending” shipper under the pipeline’s tariff, and thus would not be allowed to share the penalty amounts with El Paso and the “non-offending” shippers (see NGI, Aug. 15).

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at its Thursday meeting gave Arlington Storage Co. a waiver of the agency’s certificate requirements in order to drill up to two test wells and conduct related testing activity to determine the technical and economic feasibility of developing an underground gas storage facility in the Thomas Corners Field in Steuben County, NY [CP08-60]. Arlington Storage is a subsidiary of Inergy LP.

ConocoPhillips Co. affiliate, Compass Pass Pipeline LLC, has filed an application seeking the go-ahead to construct a small onshore pipeline that would receive LNG-sourced natural gas from a proposed offshore pipeline and import terminal and regasification facilities that are being developed by the energy company off the coast of Alabama.

ConocoPhillips Co. affiliate, Compass Pass Pipeline LLC, has filed an application seeking the go-ahead to construct a small onshore pipeline that would receive LNG-sourced natural gas from a proposed offshore pipeline and import terminal and regasification facilities that are being developed by the energy company off the coast of Alabama.

El Paso Corp. will have until mid August to file its 2003 annual report, and it received additional waivers on a $3 billion revolving credit facility, which was due to expire on Tuesday, the company announced.