FERC Office of Energy Projects staff signed off on aPaulsboro Natural Gas PipelineCo. LLC proposal to increase transportation capacity of a naturalgas line under the Delaware River as the company replaces the line under ordersfrom the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
If Paulsboro Natural Gas builds and operates the proposedfacilities in line with its application and with FERC-recommended mitigation measures,commission approval of the project would not significantly affect theenvironment, FERC staff said in the July 18 environmental assessment.
Paulsboro Natural Gas submitted the proposal, called theDelaware River pipeline relocation project, to FERC on Dec. 1, 2015.
The project was proposed to comply with a U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers directive to remove a section of the pipeline from the DelawareRiver. Corps dredging activities struck the pipeline in 2014 after the Corpsdecided to deepen the navigation channel from 40 feet to 45 feet. The damagedpipeline portion was repaired and placed back into service.
The new pipeline segment would be about 30 feet below thenavigation channel.
"The decision to abandon the remaining pipeline inplace was determined to be the least environmentally damaging and the leastdisruptive to commercial and recreational maritime traffic," staff said.
The project would also include installation of a new piglauncher at a metering site and a pig receiver at a new tie-in facility, andmodification of a connection to the Paulsboro refinery.
Paulsboro Natural Gas has planned on completing the projectby June 2017, under the assumption that FERC would approve it by October 2016.