Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Accepting Comments On Draft EIS For Ohio Valley Connector Natural Gas Pipeline In Greene County Until Nov. 21

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is accepting public comments on a draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Ohio Valley Connector Natural Gas Pipeline running from Greene County, PA through West Virginia and into Ohio.  (See formal notice.)

The deadline for comments is November 21.

Equitrans proposes to acquire and operate the existing non-jurisdictional Cygrymus Compressor Station and install two new turbines in Greene County, Pennsylvania. 

In addition, Equitrans would install one additional compressor unit each at the existing Corona Compressor Station in Wetzel County, West Virginia and at the existing Plasma Compressor Station in Monroe County, Ohio.  

Equitrans would also construct approximately 5.5 miles of pipeline in various segments and ancillary facilities in Greene County, Pennsylvania and Wetzel County, West Virginia.  

The proposed project would expand Equitrans’ existing Ohio Valley Connector assets to deliver approximately 350,000 dekatherms per day of incremental firm natural gas to the expanding mid-continent and Gulf Coast markets along the Rockies Express and Rover pipeline systems.

FERC staff concludes that most adverse environmental impacts would be temporary or short-term during construction and would have minimal effects on existing land use, as the proposed facilities would be added within an area already characterized by energy production and transmission facilities.  

With the exception of climate change impacts that are not characterized in the EIS as significant or insignificant, staff concludes that Project impacts on the environment would not be significant.  

This determination is based on a review of the information provided by Equitrans and further developed from data requests; field investigations; scoping; literature research; alternatives analyses; and contacts with the federal, state, and local agencies, Native American tribes, and other stakeholders. 

To ensure impacts on the environment are avoided, reduced, and minimized to the extent practical, staff recommends that Equitans implement additional mitigation measures.  These recommendations are identified in sections 4 and 5 of the draft EIS. 

Click Here for the formal notice.  Click Here for step-by-step instructions on how to file comments.

NewsClip:

-- WV Gazette-Mail: FERC Taking Comment On Proposed Natural Gas Pipeline Expansion Project Targeting Parts Of Ohio, PA

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[Posted: November 10, 2022]  PA Environment Digest