The Maryland Department of Environment has reportedly asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withhold a permit for a TransCanada Corp. company's natural gas pipeline project until the state agency can propose special conditions for the project.

According to an Associated Press report, the department is concerned about water quality impacts from the Columbia Gas Transmission LLC pipeline that would cross the Potomac River from Maryland into West Virginia. In a Feb. 15 letter, the AP reported, Maryland Secretary of the Environment Ben Grumbles said the department identified potential problems with the project and wants to propose conditions for the Army Corps to include in its authorization.

The project has attracted protests from local environmental groups critical of the state's decision not to conduct a more extensive review under the federal Clean Water Act. The Maryland Department of Environment did not return a request for additional information by the time of publication.

The expansion project would deliver 47,500 Dth/d of gas from Pennsylvania to a delivery point for West Virginia local distribution company Mountaineer Gas Co. (FERC docket CP17-80)