A member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission pledged to support developers of Marcellus Shale gas pipelines as they face persistent permitting issues at the state level.
At a Hart Energy conference on the Appalachian midstream, FERC Commissioner Robert Powelson promised to advocate for pipeline developers and protect their interests in the face of states' resistance to proposed projects.
"I am a devout advocate for states' rights, but there comes a point in time … where you as operators need that regulatory certainty to deploy capital into a project, and I do get concerned at my level [about] some of the game playing that goes on in certain jurisdictions around pipeline development," he said in a Jan. 31 speech. "I pledge to you as a new FERC commissioner that I will work with you to really solve those problems."
FERC Commissioner Robert Powelson was sworn in Aug. 10, 2017. Source: FERC |
At the Pittsburgh conference, a few pipeline company officials skirted questions about how opposition from state and local governments and environmental groups has made authorizing and building pipelines increasingly difficult. Executives with some projects, the Dominion Energy Inc.-led Atlantic Coast pipeline and the Rover Pipeline LLC project of Energy Transfer Partners LP, declined to talk about permitting and regulatory challenges. But others offered their thoughts.
"I think about the people that oppose us [and] it doesn't frustrate me," Williams Cos. Inc. Senior Vice President Jim Scheel said about resistance to the Williams-led Constitution Pipeline Co. LLC project between Pennsylvania and New York. "What we want to do is work responsibly and we want to work safely … in order to make sure that, after [the pipeline] is operational, they never have to think about us anymore."
Backed by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., WGL Holdings Inc., Duke Energy Corp.'s Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. and Williams, the 121-mile Constitution project was approved by FERC in December 2014. In April 2016, however, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation denied the pipeline's Clean Water Act Section 401 certification, preventing Constitution from beginning construction.
After a federal appeals court upheld the state's decision in August 2017, Constitution in October 2017 asked FERC to remove the state agency from the permitting process, but the pipeline suffered another setback Jan. 11 when the commission ruled that the Department of Environmental Conservation had not run out of time to act on the application.
A protest against Dominion Energy Inc.'s Atlantic Coast pipeline outside the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in April 2017. Source: S&P Global Market Intelligence |
The EQT Midstream Partners LP-led Mountain Valley pipeline project has also run into challenges. FERC recently authorized the project to begin some construction activities in West Virgina, but landowners fighting the Natural Gas Act's eminent domain power asked a federal appeals court in January to review a district court ruling in favor of FERC and Mountain Valley.
Contrasting the ease of acquiring permits in West Virginia with opposition in Virginia, EQT Midstream COO Jerry Ashcroft said he expected the Mountain Valley pipeline, a joint venture with WGL Holdings, NextEra Energy Inc., RGC Resources Inc. and Consolidated Edison Inc., to ultimately win over Virginians.
"I do think, though, that we will gain traction, because if you as a homeowner are seeing your personal natural gas bill go down, I think that really can be a title change, but until that happens I think it's a tough market," Ashcroft said during a presentation.


