FERC Rejects Pipeline Foes' Requests to Halt, Reopen Hearings into AIM

The Federal Energy Regulation Commission denied all the requests for putting a stay on or re-opening hearings into Spectra Energy’s AIM project to expand and renovate segments of its Algonquin pipeline.

In a 60-page document, FERC concluded that their Environmental Impact Statement on the AIM project had been adequate, and concluded “the Commission finds that Coalition and Local Officials have not demonstrated that they will suffer irreparable harm, and thus, their requests for stay are denied.”

The Commission reviewed requests for rehearing from:

Allegheny Defense Project; City of Boston Delegation; Coalition of Environmental and Community Organizations, Impacted Landowners, and Municipalities; Town of Cortlandt, New York; Town of Dedham, Massachusetts; Peter Harckham; Riverkeeper, Inc.; and West Roxbury Coalition and the Town of Cortlandt also requested a stay of Algonquin’s certificate.

Among other things, FERC disagreed with the argument by Riverkeeper and many others that the projects have been improperly segmented, allowing Algonquin to shield its broader plans from a more comprehensive review; and that the Commission’s alleged segmentation inhibited the public’s ability to evaluate project costs to the environment and communities.

“The fact that some of the projects’ facilities will overlap does not mean that the projects are interdependent. Connectivity by itself does not equate to interdependence. If this were the case, no project in the interstate pipeline grid could be independently proposed, evaluated, or constructed.”

FERC said that the argument that the Southeast Compressor Station would emit more pollutants is “erroneous. The final EIS compared the maximum potential emissions of the existing compressor stations with the maximum potential emissions from these stations after modifications, and concluded that emissions would decrease for several pollutants at the Southeast and Stony Point Compressor Stations.”

FERC also affirmed the final EIS’s finding that the AIM Project can safely operate near Indian Point.

FERC dismissed local arguments that the AIM permissions conflicted with Westchester County rules about parkland -- the pipeline will go through Blue Mountain Park Reservation and part of the park is being used as a staging area.

FERC said that if a conflict arises between the requirements of a state or local agency and the Commission’s certificate conditions, the principles of preemption will apply and the federal authorization will preempt the state or local requirements.

And FERC did not accept any new evidence, saying ”the Commission has a longstanding policy to not accept additional evidence at the rehearing stage of a proceeding, absent a compelling showing of good cause.”

Here is the background on the Algonquin project from FERC’s document:

The March 3 Order authorized Algonquin to construct and operate the AIM Project to expand the pipeline capacity on its existing pipeline system, which extends from points near Lambertville and Hanover, New Jersey, through the States of New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, to points near the Boston area.

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. A majority of the pipeline installation will replace existing pipeline with larger diameter pipeline. The remaining pipeline installation will be new pipeline, including the new West Roxbury Lateral, an approximately 5-mile lateral that will be constructed off Algonquin’s existing I-4 System Lateral in Norfolk and Suffolk Counties, Massachusetts, and will connect to the new West Roxbury Meter Station in Suffolk County, Massachusetts.

The AIM Project will also add 81,620 horsepower (hp) of compression at six existing compressor stations in New York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island; involve the abandonment of certain facilities; include the construction of three new meter stations, including the West Roxbury Meter Station; and modify 24 existing meter stations. Through these expansion upgrades, the AIM Project will provide 342,000 dekatherms (Dth) per day of firm transportation service from an existing receipt point in Ramapo, New York, to eight local distribution companies and two municipal utilities (collectively

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