As with numerous other Northeastern projects, there has been much speculation behind the status of Dominion's New Market Project and whether the project would be complete in time for their November 2016 in-service date. Although there has not been an official release from Dominion or revised schedule announcing the delay, Genscape believes the prospect of meeting the anticipated in-service date is bleak.
The proposed project would allow Dominion to provide an additional 112 MDth/day of firm transportation service for the two project shippers. Specifically, Dominion will receive 82 MDth/day from Brooklyn Union at the existing Leidy Interconnect in Clinton County, PA and deliver to the Brookman Corners Interconnect in Montgomery County, NY. The remaining 30 MDth/day will be received on behalf of Niagara Mohawk at the same Leidy Interconnect but delivered to the West Schenectady Interconnect in Schenectady County, NY.
To accommodate the additional capacity, Dominion plans to install two new compressor stations in Chemung and Madison County, NY (Horseheads and Sheds Station, respectively), additional compression at their existing Brookman Corners Station, and modifications to the existing Borger Station and the West Schenectady M&R Station. In the original application filed in June 2014 under the docket CP14-497, Dominion requested FERC approval by April 2015, so they could begin construction the upcoming September and meet their November 2016 in-service date. The hopes that construction would begin on schedule in September were officially squandered when FERC notified Dominion that the Environmental Assessment report would not be issued until October 21, then FERC had until January 18, 2016 to make an official decision. However, it is now three months past the 90-day federal decision deadline and no verdict has been made.
A possibility behind the holdup is the facility air permits from the New York Department of Environment Conservation (DEC) for the Horseheads and Sheds Compressor Stations. The permit applications for the new stations are complete, however, currently they are in the mandatory 30-day public review and comment period which ends on May 13, 2016. After the close of the public review, the DEC has until June 12, to review the application, comments received, and to determine if a public hearing must be held. Typically, the department itself does not require public hearings for minor projects, such as the New Market compressor stations. However, while in the review process, the community can request to hold public hearings and if the requests are deemed valid and substantial, the request will be granted by the DEC. If this occurs, the case from then on will be treated as a major project, regardless of its initial classification.
In the best case scenario, if the community does not request a hearing and the facilities remain minor projects, the DEC can issue a final decision to either issue or deny the permit as early as May 28, 2016. If hearings were requested but deemed inadequate and dismissed, the DEC will issue a final decision by June 12, 2016. In the worst case scenario, the DEC grants a hearing request and as a result facilities are re-classified as major projects. The DEC must notify all commenters by the same June 12 deadline, and hearings must be scheduled and commence by July 12. After the hearings, the DEC has until approximately September 12 to review the application, the hearing testimonials, and issue a final decision.
However, based on similar Northeastern projects and the numerous opposing commentators in the FERC docket, Genscape believes it is likely the project will receive a hearing, and thus Dominion will not receive a decision in June 2016. Even if FERC issues a certificate before the DEC finished their permitting process, construction on the project cannot begin until the project has received those permits, which at the latest would be mid-September 2016. If Dominion is able to get construction up and running by late September/early October and follows a 14-month construction schedule similar to that which was illustrated in the initial application, Genscape anticipates the project coming online November 2017. However, if the project experience further issues and construction delays, as other northeastern projects have, Genscape expects the in-service date to be further postponed, possibly into early 2018.
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