Appeal Filed over 2nd Pipeline Expansion Project

A coalition of environmental groups, the city of Quincy, Massachusetts and two residents of that state filed a federal appeal last week with the United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s approval of the controversial Atlantic Bridge project.

Atlantic Bridge consists of work expanding more pieces of Spectra Energy’s Algonquin pipeline through Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties. The natural gas pipeline runs through Rockland, Westchester and Putnam counties on its way to New England. Spectra’s plan to enlarge the pipeline includes three projects so far.

• The AIM Project involves the construction, installation, operation, and maintenance of 37.4 miles of pipeline and related facilities in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. Most of the pipeline installation is replacing existing pipeline with larger diameter pipeline.
• Atlantic Bridge includes replacement of another 10.9 miles of existing pipeline with new larger diameter pipe.
• Access Northeast includes the expansion of approximately 125 miles of the existing Algonquin pipeline system. Suggested receipt points would be on the west end of the Algonquin system

Food & Water Watch, Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station and grassroots groups from three states and the City of Quincy are arguing in court that because of a lack of quorum at FERC, the waivers of the 30-day deadline to respond to the groups’ requests for rehearing that FERC staff issued on the certificate approving the project as a whole, as well as a construction permission for Connecticut, are invalid, and that on that basis, the groups are allowed to proceed directly to federal court. FRRACS engaged DC-based attorney Carolyn Elefant, Esq. to file the appeal.

The town of Weymouth, Massachusetts made a similar argument in a petition filed with the same court.

Spectra responded:

On January 25, 2017, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Atlantic Bridge Project (Atlantic Bridge), an expansion of our Algonquin Gas Transmission (Algonquin) and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline (Maritimes) interstate pipeline systems. The Certificate was issued following a comprehensive 23-month review and evaluation by FERC that included more than 600 written comments from the public, agencies and elected officials.
Atlantic Bridge will transport significant and diverse natural gas supplies to the New England states and the Canadian Maritime provinces and is expected to provide reliability of energy throughout the region and to help generate savings for homeowners, businesses and manufacturers. Construction of certain facilities in Connecticut started in early May. The Atlantic Bridge facilities are designed and will be constructed, operated and maintained to meet or exceed federal safety standards and regulations. The Algonquin system has been operating safely in the area for more than 60 years providing clean, reliable, domestic natural gas to heat homes and businesses.
We do not comment on matters of pending litigation.

The opponents are concerned about the three separate Algonquin pipeline projects. Opponents allege that by calling one pipeline's expansion by three different names, Spectra Energy avoided review of the full project's environmental impacts.

"Spectra has clearly taken their massive expansion of the 'Algonquin' Pipeline and broken it up into smaller projects to avoid proper assessment of the environmental impacts,” said Peekskill resident Courtney Williams from Stop the Algonquin Pipeline Expansion (SAPE) and SEnRG, NY. SAPE is part of the coalition. “Many streams and wetlands will be crossed by Spectra's Atlantic Bridge project, and hundreds of communities will be impacted by construction and infrastructure, yet FERC refused to produce a full Environmental Impact Statement. Add to this the shoddy science in the environmental assessment, numerous conflicts of interest, and the segmentation of the AIM and Access Northeast projects, and I am shocked that FERC continues to operate the way it does. We should be transitioning as quickly as possible to clean energy, not deepening our dependence on fossil fuels."

In a earlier filing with FERC about the Algonquin Incremental Market proposal, Spectra argued that the law about unfair segmentation only applies to proposals. At the time, the company said, its Atlantic Bridge and Access Northeast projects were still in their development phases and neither was a ’proposal’ subject to NEPA review and needed not be considered as ’cumulative actions.'

Atlantic Bridge includes:

• Removal and replacement of approximately 10.9 miles of existing 26-inch diameter mainline pipeline with new 42-inch diameter pipeline in Rockland, Westchester and Putman Counties in New York, and Fairfield County in Connecticut;
• Construction of approximately 10.4 miles of new 36-inch diameter loop extension pipeline along the existing mainline pipeline right-of-way (“ROW”) in Hartford and Middlesex Counties, Connecticut;
• Construction of approximately 2.6 miles of new 36-inch diameter loop pipeline along existing mainline pipeline ROW in Windham County, Connecticut;
• Construction of approximately 10.1 miles of new 30-inch diameter looping pipeline along the existing Q-1 System pipeline ROW in Norfolk County, Massachusetts;
• Construction of approximately 2.2 miles of new 12-inch diameter looping pipeline along the existing G-2 System pipeline ROW in Newport County, Rhode Island;
• Modifications to two (2) existing Algonquin compressor stations located in New Haven County and Windham County, Connecticut;
• Construction of one new compressor station located in Norfolk County Massachusetts;
• Construction of a new permanent access road, including a permanent bridge, to an existing metering and regulating (“M&R”) station in Rockland County, New York
• Work at eight (8) M&R station sites in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.

RELATED:

• FERC Says Environmental Impacts of Pipeline Expansion Minimal
  
• Is Algonquin Expansion Part of System Upgrade: FERC
  
• Arrests: Pipeline Foes Block Worksites in Cortlandt
  
• Pipeline Project Making Progress Under the Hudson
  
• FERC Rejects Pipeline Foes’ Requests to Halt, Reopen Hearings into AIM
  
• Arrests as Protesters Block Pipeline Staging Area