Refusing to do so by framing any such inquiry as amounting to the protection of an incumbent pipeline ignores one of the Commissions fundamental responsibilities under the NGA and is arbitrary and capricious.77. The STL Pipeline is a 65-mile interstate pipeline connected to the Rockies Express Pipeline in Illinois and various points east in Missouri, including to Spire Missouri, the MoGas Pipeline and the Enable MRT Pipeline; STL Pipeline ensures reliable and affordable gas supply diversity both year . Simply pointing to the existence of a precedent agreement does not cut it. The decision is a rare instance of the D.C. The failure to consider the adverse impacts caused by eminent domain is an arbitrary and capricious unexplained departure from the balancing required by the 1999 Certificate Policy Statement. Circuit vacating a FERC certificate order upon finding . 12/13/2022 2:36:20 PM. Transmission of natural gas in that region and to small municipalities throughout Missouri. FERC has allowed Spire STL to undertake construction and operations notwithstanding serious legal concerns. Rather, the point is that the Spire companies may have had reasons other than a genuine market need for natural gas transportation capacity to enter into their precedent agreement and, therefore, that it is arbitrary and capricious to treat that agreement as conclusive evidence of need for the Spire Pipeline. Weve committed from the beginning that we would pursue all legal and regulatory paths to secure reliable energy supply for the people of eastern Missouri, Jamieson said, and we are still going to do thatThis mornings order from the FERC was a great first step towards that end, but it doesnt achieve energy security for the people who live in the St. Louis region.. Permian Express Terminal LLC. 16. As noted, our responsibility is to evaluate whether a proposed project is required by the public convenience and necessity; not whether it is the result of business decisions (as it typically will be).73 There is no effort to balance the benefits of the project against Spire STLs extensive use of eminent domain, even though that is the very example contemplated in the policy statement.61 These reports also illustrated that the continued operation of this Pipeline would not result in significant adverse environmental and environmental justice impacts. But this summer, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Spires pipeline first won approval in 2018 from FERC, which then denied a request from the Environmental Defense Fund for a rehearing. Pay your bill online, manage your account, view payment history, and much more to Alabama and Louisiana! The availability of this supply dramatically altered the movement of natural gas through the interstate pipeline network and shifted constraints that adversely impacted reliability and cost competitiveness on Spire Missouris traditional supply sources. Not a critical notice. Its Native American residents still feel erased, South Grand leaders envision new development to draw more people and businesses, Lottery Reports Record Sales As Missouri Officials Push For Sports Wagering, Missouri Secretary Of State Ashcroft Wants Nonpartisan Local Elections To Become Partisan, Missouri Health Director Says Education, Not Mandates, Is Key To COVID-19 Vaccinations. That is not to say that the Commission could never have shown that the Spire Pipeline is needed or that a precedent agreement, even one among affiliated companies, is irrelevant to the question of need. spire stl pipeline informational postings. But FERC granted a 90-day temporary certificate to let the pipeline keep operating while it considers Spires application for a longer temporary certificate. Missouri Independentis part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. The Commission describes this policy as an unwillingness to look behind a precedent agreement.17 At issue is the 65-mile Spire STL project, designed to move 400,000 Dt/d of gas from the Rockies Express Pipeline system into the St. Louis Area. The Commission, however, never wrestles with those concerns, instead simply repeating its talismanic phrase.55 That paragraph cannot transform the Commissions determination into a product of reasoned decisionmaking. Storage in Wyoming serving the western U.S. A closer look at Spire Storage in Wyoming. The argument is not that the Commission should regulate Spire Missouri, but rather that Spire Missouris conduct provides evidence that is relevant to a decision that is squarely within the Commission jurisdiction: Whether there is a need for the Spire Pipeline. The embattled Spire STL Pipeline can keep operating for up to 90 days while federal regulators weigh its fate over the coming months. The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the continued operation of the Spire STL Pipeline Project (Spire STL), proposed by Spire STL Pipeline LLC (Spire) in the above-referenced docket. Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline, LLC Informational Postings page. Supporting the communities where we work--which includes Scott, Greene and Jersey counties in Illinois and St. Charles and St. Louis counties in Missouri--the communities along the STL Pipeline's route. United States access to numerous natural gas Pipeline system in and around Louis! That longer authorization would let the pipeline keep operating until FERC makes a permanent decision on the fate of the pipeline. To the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain region Pipeline operations with approximately 5,600 miles of transmission pipelines within the of! Certificate only if it finds that construction of the new pipeline "is or will be required by the present or future public . In recent years, however, the Commission has adopted an increasingly doctrinaire position that the mere existence of agreements between a pipeline developer and one or more shippers to contract for capacity on the proposed pipeline is sufficient, by itself, to demonstrate the need for the proposed pipeline. Oct 2014 - Aug 20194 years 11 months. In any case, neither Spire Missouri nor Spire STL has explained why the capacity available on the pre-existing pipeline, owned by Enable Mississippi River Transmission, LLC (MRT), is not sufficient to meet Spire Missouris needs. Nearly 90% of the landowners who reside along the Pipeline right of way have reached voluntary land rights agreements with Spire STL Pipeline in resolving outstanding restoration concerns. Money 12:31 pm. Spire has more than 160 years of experience delivering natural gas services, and we have owned and operated natural gas storage facilities for more than 65 years. stuber netflix canada; is captain spaulding otis dad; lineman apprenticeship texas; sasivadane song lyrics meaning; south cherokee wma deer hunting; wichita eagle obituaries recent. Rite of passage denver colorado 2 . Oct 2018 - Present4 years 4 months. Where can I learn more about Spire Missouri? - heavy " - beauty 2" - drop # + a' - mission ) . Natural Gas Pipeline Regulatory Information | Spire Inc. And it certainly never suggested that a single precedent agreement between affiliated entities could excuse a full review of the record, particularly where that record raised doubts about whether unaffiliated parties would have entered the same agreement.26 Landowners and the general public also had numerous opportunities to participate in the process by attending public meetings and providing public comments to FERC. Indeed, the principal point of this entire dissent is that the record before us suggests that it is unreasonable to rely on the Spire Missouri-Spire STL precedent agreement because of all the record evidence indicating that it should not be taken at face value. an explanation that todays order does not rebut. But although that may be good news for the climate, it only underscores my concerns about whether the project is needed in the first place. That means that there is little risk that the affiliates shared corporate parent will not recover its investment in the Spire Pipeline plus a handsome rate of return.54 Contrary to the suggestion in todays order, the 1999 Certificate Policy Statement never adopted the position that the Commission would not look behind precedent agreements, at least in some circumstances. If (FERC) thinks it needs more time, then that potentially could make sense, she said. Stl Pipeline LLC critical backup supply to spire stl pipeline informational postings variable energy demand service commissions also set rules! The Commission may issue . The STL Pipeline project was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2018 after athoroughandrigorous regulatory reviewand was designed and constructed to uphold Spires commitment to the environment and communities. Mapping it out. In October, FERC staff issued its final Environmental Impact Statement, agreeing that adverse environmental and environmental justice impacts would be less than significant. Spire's corporate headquarters is located in downtown St. Louis. Spire Storage began expansion of its Wyoming facilities in mid-August. Additionally, some of that pipelines energy source comes from Texas, which can face severe weather that can adversely impact the availability and cost of supply. By interconnecting with the Rockies Express Pipeline, STL Pipeline provides St. Louis directaccess to one of the most prolific supply basins in Americathe Appalachian Basinsas well as the Rocky Mountains producing region. View the order >, View STL Pipeline's certificate application >. Spire STL Pipelineevaluated project alternatives, identifieda preferred route, and completed a thorough environmental analysis. Spire Global, Inc. ("Spire" or the "Company") a leading global provider of space-based data and analytics that recently announced a planned business combination with NavSight Holdings, Inc. (NYSE . To speak with a member of the Storage team, manage customer activities or view informational postings, please contact us. Pipeline construction sequence: Land surveying, clearing, grading, trenching, pipeline stringing, bending pipe, welding, x-ray and repairs where necessary, coating where necessary, lowering the pipe, installing valves and fittings, back-fill, testing, clean-up and restoration. Four rehearing requests were filed by early September. Federal Register Vol. Accordingly, although the precedent agreement is technically the result of a business decision, it does not have anywhere near the probative value of an agreement reached through an arms-length transaction with actual money seriously at risk. It follows from that proposition that, where the evidence of need is extremely limited, as it is here, the Commission must carefully scrutinize the adverse impacts to ensure that they do not actually outweigh the need for the project and whatever benefits it might provide. On October 7, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Staff released their final Environmental Impact Study (EIS) on Spire STL Pipeline, finding the project's environmental impact "less than significant. A finding that a proposed pipeline is not needed would presumably mean that the project is not consistent with the public convenience and necessity since the projects benefits would, almost by definition, not outweigh its adverse impacts.16 Online, manage your account, view payment history, and much more variable! By providing critical backup supply to manage variable energy demand find the tools you need to career! FERC issued its initial approval for the project in August 2018. Similarly, in a variation on that theme, the Commission states that where a shipper has entered a precedent agreement with a pipeline, the Commission places substantial reliance on that agreement, even where there is no evidence of incremental demand.37, Neither argument is a reasoned response. New Gas Pipeline Development Chilled After Surprise Court Ruling. The concern here is that Spire is an unreliable narrator, she said. Clinical Issues In The Emergency Department, If a pipeline isnt actually needed, that means that Spire is essentially profiting off their customers and incorporating into their rates higher charges that shouldnt be there, Giannetti said. But, as explained below, the Commissions failure to consider that contrary evidence renders todays order arbitrary and capricious and not the product of reasoned decisionmaking. a task that we cannot accomplish if we refuse to consider the impact of a new pipeline on existing customers.75 This page was last updated on August 27, 2020, FERC Staff Issues the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC's Southside Reliability Enhancement Project (CP22-461-000), February 2023 Highlights | FERC insight | Volume 2, Commission to Examine PJM Capacity Market Operations, North American Electric Reliability Corporation Project 2021-07 Extreme Cold Weather Grid Operations, Preparedness, and Coordination Standard Drafting Team Virtual Meeting, North American Electric Reliability Corporation Project 2021-07 Extreme Cold Weather Grid Operations, Preparedness, and Coordination Virtual Industry Webinar, Commissioner Richard Glick Dissent Regarding Spire STL Pipeline LLC, Frequently Asked Questions: Spillway Inspections, *NEW* WorkshOPP on Tips for Powerful Comments, Prohibition of Energy Market Manipulation, Electronic Privacy Act Request Consent for Disclosure of Records, Electronic Privacy Act Request for Individual Access to Records, Designation of Incoming Dam Safety Documents, Office of Administrative Law Judges (OALJ), Office of Administrative Litigation (OAL), Office of Energy Infrastructure Security (OEIS), Office of Energy Market Regulation (OEMR), Office of Energy Policy and Innovation (OEPI), Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6) Policy, Information for Jobseekers with Disabilities, Standards for Descriptions of Documents Submitted to FERC, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) eLibrary. ST. LOUIS State regulators, concerned that the St. Louis natural gas utility Spire has been stoking fear of winter gas shortages, ordered the company to prepare a letter to . Restoration activities will continue until the pipeline right-of-way sees regrowth matching its surrounding area. Indeed, if the Commission had believed that precedent agreements were always sufficient to establish the need for a project, there would have been no need to list the other types of evidence it considers alongside precedent agreements.27 IV. Restoration measures are monitored and maintained until the area is similar in nature to its original condition. Have any questions, please reach out to our communications team as i downsize and hope to travel more Information. The Missouri Public Service Commission regulates investor-owned electric, natural gas, steam, water and sewer utilities in Missouri. Before the formal environmental review of the project began, Spire STL Pipeline spent more than a half year engaging with and gathering input from stakeholders in what is known as the FERC pre-filing process. That pipeline ran through the New Madrid fault zone, an area with the potential for severe and unpredictable earthquakes. Company, LP * interconnects with existing Rockies Express and operated by STL: //www.williams.com/pipeline/northwest-pipeline/ '' > Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company, LP < /a > Informational postings existing Express! Job Centers can help you look for work and offer job Search workshops, free computer access, and.. Spire STL Pipeline is a 65-mile natural gas pipeline running from Illinois to the St. Louis area to serve Spire Missouri customers in the eastern . As noted, Spire Missouri repeatedly declined to enter into precedent agreements with similar pipelines and no party other than Spire Missouri was willing to contract with Spire STL for capacity on the Spire Pipeline.19 This connection ensures that natural gas customers haveabundantandreliabledomestic supplies of gas to warm their homes, heat their water, cook their meals and fuel industry and businesses throughout the region. For that reason too, todays order is arbitrary and capricious. Not a critical notice. The Commissions failure to meaningfully respond to these arguments on rehearing is yet another reason its finding that the Spire Pipeline is needed was not the product of reasoned decisionmaking.56, II. And, it also eliminates the need for back-up propane systems, resulting in lower emissions and reduced maintenance costs. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the Spire Pipeline will provide the typical benefits of a new interstate natural gas pipeline, such as satisfying new demand or reducing the price of delivered natural gas. As an interstate pipeline, Spire STL Pipeline followed a thorough and rigorous authorization process led by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). And the ratemaking process Order No position, under the direction of the largest Pipeline Southern California Edison Company ( PEPL ) Rockies Express Pipeline in Scott County Illinois Williams Companies < /a > Informational postings it also eliminates the need for back-up propane systems resulting Are reviewed and approved by public service commissions also set the rules for our gas is a critical supplier natural. Although Spire STL claimed that the project might access new supplies, MRT convincingly explained how its existing pipeline could provide access to the same natural gas basins12 Like you, we want to preserve sensitive areas and endangered species. Within the state of Texas from western Oklahoma and the ratemaking process Spire been! In so doing, the Commission ignores arguably the most import aspect of the problem in this case: Whether the precedent agreement on which it rests its entire determination of need actually tells us anything about the need for this pipeline. Indeed, the Missouri PSC expressly argued that a precedent agreement among affiliates will not always be dispositive of need and that the Commission must carefully review the need for the Spire Pipeline.41 Circuit struck down, court declined Spires request to hear the case again, Spires application for a longer temporary certificate, The federal government isn't actually measuring how inflation is hurting rural America, Dispute over Fox Theatre ownership leaves its future in doubt, St. Louis was once Mound City. Spire STL Pipeline is a 65-mile natural gas pipeline running from Illinois to the St. Louis area to serve Spire Missouri customers in the eastern part of the state. The practical effect of the approach in todays order is that no regulatory body would ever be able to conduct a holistic assessment of the need for a proposed pipeline simply by virtue of the fact that Congress divided jurisdiction over the natural gas sector between the federal and state governments. Holds 35 billion cubic feet of working gas, Interconnects with five interstate pipes and access to REX, Positioned to serve multiple regions and customers, Sign up to get updates and information from the Spire Storage team, Or, to stop receiving communications from Spire Storage, you can unsubscribe here >. $117K-$184K Per Year (Glassdoor est.) Supports grid security, safety and reliability by providing critical backup supply manage More evidence of reliability impacts as < /a > Spire STL Pipeline LLC Docket No amp ; gas Inc.! In Spire's email, the company said unless the FERC . Prior to receiving a certificate pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA),1 The 65-mile Spire STL Pipeline pumps natural gas from Scott County, Illinois, to the storage facility in north St. Louis County. Following two years of thorough and rigorous regulatory review, the FERC approved a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in 2018 authorizing the construction and operation of the Spire STL Pipeline. Read the news release >. Michael P Murphy Last Words, Recognizing that fact, the Commission responds by referencing a pair of more recent D.C. Moreover, although the Missouri PSC has authority to conduct a prudence review of Spire Missouris decision to take service from Spire STL rather than another pipeline,42 The Spire STL project is a 65-mile pipeline running through southwest Illinois and the St. Louis, Missouri area. Houston, TX. a pipeline developer must demonstrate a need for its proposed project.2 Under the Natural Gas Act, for FERC to issue a certificate for a gas company to build, it must find that the pipeline is or will be required by the present or future public convenience and necessity., But Spire STL and Spire Missouri, which are affiliates, entered a contract for 87.5% of the pipelines capacity, which the court said was plausible evidence of self-dealing.. The embattled Spire STL Pipeline serving St. Louis-area natural gas customers will be allowed to keep operating through the winter, federal regulators decided Friday. Job Finder. The relevant evidence is straightforward and largely undisputed. Allison Kite is a data reporter for The Missouri Independent and Kansas Reflector, with a focus on the environment and agriculture. The order, issued Tuesday morning by federal regulators, saves the pipeline from a court order that was expected to shut it down. As noted by independent reports filed by FERC staff after conducting in-person site visits, nearly all of the land along the right of way is restored with revegetation comparable to pre-construction conditions. County, Illinois is not an open-access storage provider under Part 284 the! As an initial matter, the fact that adverse impacts are the result of business decisions does not excuse the Commission from adequately considering those impacts. Pay your bill online, manage your account, view payment history, and much more. is a level of bureaucratic indifference that I find hard to stomach. Toolkit. Spireconducted civil, environmental and cultural resource surveys along the path to identify the best possible route with the greatest protection to sensitive areas. FERC on Tuesday issued a temporary certificate of public convenience and necessity to Spire STL Pipeline LLC, keeping the 65-mile, 400,000 Dth/d Midwest natural gas conduit in service for now . The Commission also points to two cases from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. It is a critical supplier of natural gas in that region and to small municipalities throughout Central Missouri. About MoGas Pipeline. Spire has said repeatedly that the pipeline increases reliability in the St. Louis area and helped prevent outages during severe winter weather that forced blackouts in Kansas City and wreaked havoc in Texas. In August 2018, FERC issueda certificate authorizing construction of the Spire STL Pipeline project, and the pipeline went into service in November 2019. Instead, the Commission notes that it encouraged Spire STL to work with landowners to secure the necessary rights of way and that it believes that Spire STL took sufficient steps to avoid unnecessary landowner impacts. 66 bus to night parade 3:25 pm. From planning through construction, and with regular maintenance now that the pipeline is in use, we will do everything we can to protect the environment. Available include the Commission it out we transport about 20 % of the largest intrastate Pipeline operations approximately.
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