NEXUS Gas Transmission LLC is seeking FERC authorization by Feb. 3 to build an approximately 255-mile interstate natural gas transmission pipeline.

The project, which is jointly owned by DTE Energy Co. and Spectra Energy Corp., will deliver 1.5 Bcf/d of natural gas from receipt points in eastern Ohio to existing pipeline system interconnects in southeastern Michigan.

NEXUS filed the request following former FERC Chairman Norman Bay's resignation. Bay resigned as FERC commissioner Jan. 26, after President Donald Trump appointed Cheryl LaFleur as acting chairman of the regulatory body. Bay's decision to leave the agency, effective Feb. 3, will most likely leave FERC without the quorum needed to vote out orders for some time.

In a filing with FERC, NEXUS said that if not granted the requested certificates before the effective date of Bay's resignation, the start of the pipeline's construction will be delayed to the point that it will jeopardize the project's ability to meet demand.

In addition to the NEXUS project, Bay's resignation will affect three more major gas pipeline projects: Energy Transfer Partners LP's Rover project to the west of the Marcellus Shale, Williams Cos. Inc.'s Atlantic Sunrise project on the southern edge and National Fuel Gas Co.'s Northern Access 2016 project to the north.