Feds prepare to draft EIS for controversial pipeline

Westchester County Business Journal, Apr 06, 1998 by T, Mary

As municipal leaders throughout Westchester County voice concerns over the proposed Columbia Gas Millennium Pipeline, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is moving forward with a draft environmental impact study (DEIS) on the project.

FERC spokeswoman Tamara Young Allen said the DEIS will be issued within the next few months. "We've been holding a series of scoping sessions along the proposed pipeline route, and people are very concerned everywhere," she said. "Wherever you have a gas pipeline project, there's always a lot of controversy."

Columbia Gas Transmission Corp. of Fairfax, Va., is proposing to build a 422-mile pipeline from Lake Erie in Canada to Mount Vernon. The $650 million Millennium Pipeline Project would carry up to 700 million cubic feet of natural gas per day from Canada to Mount Vernon. It would run underground, passing through portions of Cortlandt, Croton-on-Hudson, Yorktown, New Castle, Mount Pleasant, Briarcliff Manor, Greenburgh, Elmsford, Ardsley, Yonkers and Mount Vernon.

The project will also require a 75-foot construction right-of-way. In total, Columbia estimates more than 100a acres of land would be disturbed by construction of the pipeline. The proposed pipeline would cross through 754 wetlands and 523 water bodies.

Among the major concerns of local officials are the impact of construction and operation on fault lines and the impact on water bodies such as reservoirs, the Hudson River and Teatown Lake in Yorktown. In addition, officials are also questioning the impact of the project on local parks, such as George's Island Park in Buchanan, Tarrytown Lakes Park and the North County Trailway.

Consolidated Edison Corp. has already made its opposition official, indicating that running the pipeline under high voltage transmission lines could be hazardous in the event of a fire or explosion.

In addition, Con Edison contends the pipeline would result in extra expenses for its customers. The utility claims there are not enough pipes to handle the incoming gas. As a result, Con Edison would be forced to build additional pipelines, then pass the costs along to its 1 million natural gas customers.

In the meantime, the FERC is also reviewing several other gas pipeline projects nationwide. Young-Allen said it would probably be another year before they make any decision on the project.

Greenburgh Supervisor Paul Feiner is already in the process of forming a committee to work with Columbia in designing an alternate route that bypasses earthquake fault lines in Ardsley and Ramapo.

Feiner said he's looking for about 10 people to sit on the committee, which will include officials from Columbia. Feiner met with them recently and is optimistic. "They indicated the route proposed now is only the first step, and they are willing to discuss any other routing," he said.

Mayor and town supervisors from other communities in the path of the proposed pipeline are all remaining cautious.

According to Karl Brack, a spokesman for Columbia Gas, there is a growing need for natural gas in the Northeast. "The Clean Air Act requires power producers to reduce their emissions, and a lot of them are now switching to natural gas because it burns much cleaner," he said. "Right now, there are not enough pipelines to meet this growing need."

Brack said the connection point in Mount Vernon would allow suppliers like Con Edison, the Long Island Lighting Co. and Brooklyn Union Gas to deliver the product to their customers. Brack argues that running the pipeline under Con Edison's transmission lines is safe. "Natural gas has a good safety record," he said. "Incidents involving natural gas transmission pipelines are rare."

Brack said Columbia hopes to start the project in May 1999 and have it in service before the year 2000. Funding for the project would be provided by Columbia, with a 47.5 percent ownership, Westcoast Energy Inc. of Vancouver, British Columbia, with a 21 percent interest, TransCanada PipeLines, also with a 21 percent interest, and MCM Energy of Michigan, holding a 10.5 percent interest.

Columbia estimates the project would create more than 4,000 union jobs statewide. Currently, Columbia operates a 12,500-mile interstate natural gas pipeline network for customers in 15 states. The company is a subsidiary of The Columbia Gas System Inc., which reports assets of almost $6 billion.