Dominion Energy Inc. has decided not to build a piece of the almost $150 million Eastern Market Access natural gas transportation project approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in January.

"Dominion Energy will not construct a natural gas transmission compressor station at its Charles County [Md.] Marshall Hall site," Dominion spokesman Karl Neddenien said in an Oct. 16 email. "We will continue our existing operations at that site, which consist of a field office, a warehouse, and pipeline inspection and safety-related equipment."

Neddenien said the company is evaluating alternatives for this part of Eastern Market Access. "This requires the engagement of multiple stakeholders, as successful solutions must meet the needs of the project's customers," he said. "Discussions with customers are ongoing."

The spokesman said he could not provide information on the reasons behind the decision.

In a Jan. 23 order, FERC approved the 294,000-Mcf/d Eastern Market Access pipeline expansion to serve a new 990-MW power plant developed by Mattawoman Energy LLC and gas utility Washington Gas Light Co. off the 88-mile Dominion Energy Cove Point LNG LP pipeline that supplies the Cove Point LNG export terminal in Lusby, Md. The commission rejected challenges to that approval Aug. 10. (FERC docket CP17-15)

Dominion had sued the Charles County government and related entities in federal court after a county board denied a zoning exception that would have allowed the company to build the compressor station on a 50-acre parcel that it owns, according to the Maryland Independent newspaper. Landowners and other opponents of the project had joined the case.