WASHINGTON – The Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Thursday, denied requests for the agency
to rehear its November 28, 2017 authorization for Millennium Pipeline
Company to construct and operate pipeline, compression, and ancillary
facilities in Orange, Sullivan, Delaware and Rockland counties.
The project is designed to provide 223,000 dekatherms per day of firm
transportation service from Millennium’s Corning compressor station
to an existing interconnect with Algonquin Gas Transmission in Ramapo.
On December 1, 2017, Delaware Riverkeeper Network requested a rehearing
and on December 19, 2017, Pramilla Malick of Protect Orange County filed
a request for a hearing claiming the Eastern System upgrade is an illegally
segmented component of the Valley Lateral project, the Minisink compressor
station, all to serve the CPV power plant in Wawayanda.
Both were denied and dismissed.
The pipelines are presently under construction.
Delaware Riverkeeper Maya van Rossum believes FERC intentionally drags
its feet on making rulings such as these.
“We, in fact believe, it is a strategy by FERC to put people in
this legal limbo so that the pipeline project can advance through eminent
domain, can advance through construction, to the point where even when
successful no judge would require the project to be pulled out of the
ground,” she said.
As for Malick’s request for a rehearing on FERC’s decision,
the agency said she only submitted one page and provided no specifics
to back up her request.
