A federal appeals court gave the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission more time to issue new permits for the Enbridge Inc.-led, up to 1.1-Bcf/d Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline and two other projects that make up the massive Southeast Market Pipelines project.
In a one-page March 7 order, the U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit granted a FERC motion to stop the court from issuing a mandate that would put into effect an August 2017 decision, upheld on Jan. 31, that would have canceled the Natural Gas Act certificates for the three projects. The three projects are the $3.2 billion, 515-mile Sabal Trail pipeline from Alabama to central Florida, a joint venture of Enbridge, NextEra Energy Inc., and Duke Energy Corp.; the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC Hillabee expansion project at the northern end of the system; and NextEra's Florida Southeast Connection project at the southern end. The court did not explain its decision, but only said it had considered the motion and opposition to the motion.
The court order denied a similar motion filed by customers of the project, including Duke Energy Florida LLC.
In the August 2017 decision, the D.C. Circuit vacated the FERC approvals of the three parts of Southeast Market Pipelines. The court agreed with the Sierra Club and other project opponents, finding that the commission should have analyzed greenhouse gas emissions from downstream power plants in its environmental review of the three projects. The court sent the matter back to the commission for the analysis. (U.S. Appeals Court for the D.C. Circuit docket 16-1329)
FERC has conducted that analysis and issued a final supplement to the environmental impact statements for the projects in February. The court's action on March 7 gives the commission more time to issue new Natural Gas Act certificates for the projects that incorporate the extra environmental analysis. (FERC docket CP15-17, et al.)
The early phases of the Southeast Market Pipelines are in service. Low gas flows in the early stage led experts to conclude that a possible court-ordered shutdown of the pipeline system would not cause much harm to the pipeline companies and the Florida gas market.
