Key approvals pave way for expansion of Transco pipeline

With permits from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers, as well as approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Williams Partners has announced intent to expand the Transco natural gas pipeline.

The expansion of the existing line will connect Marcellus gas supplies with Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. markets, via a project known as Atlantic Sunrise. The expansion is expected to cost around $3 billion and should increase deliveries by 1.7 billion cubic feet per day–essentially supplying enough addition to service 7 million homes. Atlantic Sunrise has been the subject of research by Pennsylvania State University, which calculates it should bring in around 8,000 jobs to their state and create a $1.6 billion economic impact.

“We are very pleased to have reached these important milestones for the Atlantic Sunrise project,” Alan Armstrong, Williams’ president and CEO, said. “This vital project will leverage existing infrastructure to deliver economic growth and help millions of Americans gain access to affordable Pennsylvania-produced clean-burning natural gas.”

The greenfield portion of the project in Pennsylvania is expected to begin construction early this fall, and modifications to existing Transco facilities in Virginia and Maryland have already gone into service. Full project capacity is slated for service in mid-2018, supposing FERC approves a Notice to Proceed for all remaining construction. At present, they have approved a portion of the project coming into service.

FERC first provided that authorization in February 2017, with the conclusion that environmental impacts related to the expansion would be “less than significant,” as a result of mitigation measures both they and Williams Partners has proposed.