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Planned Pa. merchant plant, related pipeline secure environmental permits

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Planned Pa. merchant plant, related pipeline secure environmental permits

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued permits to private developer Birdsboro Power LLC for construction of a combined-cycle power plant and to DTE Midstream Appalachia LLC to build a pipeline supplying natural gas to the plant.

Birdsboro Power LLC is co-owned by asset manager Ares EIF Management LLC, Japanese trading firm Sojitz Corp. and a subsidiary of gas supplier Tokyo Gas Co. Ltd.

"After a thorough and rigorous technical review, it has been determined that the applications meet the stringent regulatory requirements necessary to enable this project to move forward," Joe Adams, Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP, South-central regional director, said in a March 2 news release. Due to its magnitude, the project required approval from DEP staff and the Berks County, Pa., Conservation District, according to the news release. The DEP issued a total of four permits and water quality certifications.

Specifically, the DEP issued a water obstruction and encroachment permit, which is required for construction activities along or crossing waterways such as wetlands. The Birdsboro Combined Cycle Plant, proposed in Berks County, Pa., about 70 miles northwest of Philadelphia, involves activities near or crossing the Schuylkill River and its tributaries, according to the permit which was attached to a Feb. 28 letter the DEP sent to the developer. In that letter, the DEP said the power portion of the project still requires federal authorization from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The DEP in its news release stated that the power plant's capacity at 450 MW. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence data, its capacity is planned at 488 MW.

The DEP also issued safe drinking water permits required for upgrading the Reading Area Water Authority's pumping station to draw water to the new plant, according to the DEP's release.

Finally, the DEP issued an erosion and sediment control general permit and water quality certification to DTE Midstream Appalachia for a proposed 14-mile, 12-inch diameter natural gas pipeline to be built in Berks County. The permit is effective from March 1, 2018, to Feb. 28, 2023, according to a Feb. 28, 2018, letter the DEP sent to DTE. In May 2017, DTE Midstream Appalachia applied for a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to construct the pipeline, and is still awaiting a response, DTE Energy spokesman Pete Ternes said March 5. DTE Midstream, a subsidiary of Michigan-headquartered DTE Energy Co., anticipates bringing the pipeline into service in the third quarter, Ternes confirmed.

In a Nov. 15, 2017, environmental assessment, FERC staff determined the proposed 79,000-Dth/d pipeline would have relatively minor impacts on the environment. (FERC dockets PF17-1, CP17-409)