Columbia Pipeline Group receives approval for East Side Expansion project

Columbia Pipeline Group (CPG) has announced that federal regulators have approved construction of Columbia Gas Transmission’s East Side Expansion project in Chester, Pike and Northampton County, Pennsylvania, and Gloucester County, New Jersey. The Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, issued on 18 December 2014, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), authorises Columbia to move forward with construction.

“The East Side Expansion project enables Columbia to enhance much-needed deliveries of natural gas to growing markets,” said Columbia Pipeline Group CEO Glen Kettering. “FERC’s approval of this project is an important milestone and a positive step forward for our customers.”

The East Side Expansion project will increase transportation capacity through existing and enhanced interconnects and will involve the installation of two natural gas pipeline segments with approximately 9.5 miles of pipeline in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and 9.5 miles of pipeline in Gloucester County, New Jersey. The project will also include upgrades to compression facilities in Northampton and Pike County, Pennsylvania, and modifications to existing facilities in Bucks and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, Orange County, New York, and Hartford County, Maryland. Construction is expected to be completed by fall of 2015.

The announcement is positive for union labour in the region as well, with much of the construction work to be conducted by local skilled workers. "Through this initiative, hundreds of local workers will be hard at work providing a clean, reliable and affordable source of energy to help power New Jersey's energy needs,” said New Jersey State Association of Pipe Trades President James Kehoe. “The New Jersey State Pipe Trades look forward to starting work immediately."

Columbia has been working with residents of Pennsylvania and New Jersey – as well as federal, state and local agencies – for more than 24 months to outline the pipeline project and share information about safety procedures and construction techniques.

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/project-news/22122014/columbia-pipeline-group-receives-approval-for-east-side-expansion-project-1135/