Issued: March 31, 2017
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the Millennium Pipeline Company, LLC’s (Millennium) Eastern System Upgrade Project.
The proposed project facilities include the construction, modification, and operation of the following facilities in New York:
- approximately 7.8 miles of 30- and 36-inch-diameter pipeline loop (Huguenot Loop) in Orange County;
- a new compressor station in Sullivan County;
- additional compression at the Hancock Compressor Station in Delaware County;
- modifications at the Westtown Meter Station and Wagoner Interconnect in Orange County;
- modifications at the Ramapo Meter Station in Rockland County; and
- other appurtenant facilities.
The Project would provide approximately 223,000 dekatherms per day of firm transportation service from Millennium’s existing Corning Compressor Station to an interconnect with Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC in Ramapo, New York.
The EA was prepared in compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for implementing NEPA (Title 40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Parts 1500–1508), and FERC regulations implementing NEPA (18 CFR 380). The Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohicans, Delaware Tribe of Indians, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of this EA.
FERC’s environmental staff concludes that construction and operation of the project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. This determination is based on a review of the information provided by Millennium and further developed from data requests; field investigations; scoping; literature research; alternatives analysis; and contacts with federal, state, and local agencies as well as Indian tribes and individual members of the public. Potential impacts would be reduced with the implementation of Millennium’s proposed minimization and mitigation measures and the 18 additional measures recommended in the EA. These conclusions are supported by the following:
- Millennium would obtain all necessary federal authorizations prior to commencement of construction; and
- Millennium would reduce and mitigate impacts on natural resources and public safety during construction by implementing Project-specific plans, which include the following: Horizontal Directional Drill Contingency Plan, Bedrock Blasting Plan, Winter Construction Plan, Procedures Guiding the Discovery of Unanticipated Cultural Resources and Human Remains, Invasive Species Management Plan, Site-specific Residential Plans, Environmental Construction Standards, and Spill Prevention and Response Procedures.
Comments on the EA must be received in Washington, DC on or before May 1, 2017. The FERC Commissioners will take into consideration staff’s recommendations and comments received when they make a decision on the Project.