Underground Construction - February 2022 - 12

WASHINGTONWATCH
In a setback for environmentalists, the Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) refused to fi nancially penalize the Spire STL
pipeline, whose future was thrown into question by a decision from
a DC Federal Appeals Court this past summer. Th e Court said FERC
was wrong to approve the pipeline because Spire STL made the
case for its need based only on its contract with its affi liate, Spire
Missouri, the local distribution company serving St. Louis. Spire
STL went into operation in 2018.
Th e Appeals Court " remanded " the case back to FERC meaning
the commission was supposed to determine whether its 2018 approval
should be modifi ed. Th e commission has failed to do that
and instead gave the pipeline a temporary certifi cate for 90 days on
Sept. 14, 2021, and then renewed it indefi nitely on Dec. 4, 2021.
In renewing the temporary certifi cate a second time, FERC ignored
pleas from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to penalize
the pipeline as it continued to operate during what could be
a harsh, St. Louis winter. Th e commission also set aside demands
from landowners to stop the pipeline from seizing property under
eminent domain. In both instances, FERC supplied detailed reasoning
why neither demand held water.
Perhaps more notably, in terms of potential longer-range impacts,
the demands of environmental groups and St. Louis politicians,
such as Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), that FERC keep the pipeline
in business over the winter seemed to fl y in the face of Spire opponents'
current and previous arguments that the Pipeline was not
needed. Th at was the argument the EDF made in bringing the case
to the Appeals Court.
Now the Public Service Commission of Missouri is begging
FERC to keep the Spire Pipeline in operation. So is the EDF and
environmental groups. In a November letter to FERC Chairman
Richard Glick, Rep. Bush wrote: " If Spire Inc. is deliberately provoking
widespread fear instead of directing all eff orts to preventing
service interruptions, that would be tantamount to corporate
malpractice. St. Louis Spire customers have been forced to pay for
a pipeline they do not need and will not benefi t from, all built to
prioritize corporate profi ts over the Black, B?rown and Indigenous
communities that live in the pipeline's path. "
In November letters, radio spots and on its web site, Spire acknowledged
that if FERC withdrew its approval and the pipeline
was forced out of operation, that hundreds of thousands of St.
Louis residents would lose service if temperatures dropped to certain
points. Rep. Bush called those communications " scare " tactics.
But in its decision extending the temporary certifi cate indefi -
nitely, FERC stated, " ... the record indicates that alternative fi rm
interstate transportation for Spire Missouri to replace the Spire
STL Pipeline is not available. Additionally, the record refl ects that
Spire Missouri cannot construct replacements for the facilities
12 FEBRUARY 2022 | UCONonline.com
Stephen Barlas | Washington, D.C. Editor
FERC Ignores Environmentalist Pleas
to Penalize Spire STL
that it removed from service or decommissioned in time to meet
its obligations for this winter heating season. "
FERC did not address whether Spire Missouri could reconfi gure
supply in the future so that its Spire STL gas would not be needed
during future winters.
Meanwhile, FERC dispatched the EDF's arguments that Spire
STL should be fi nancially penalized during the 2021-2022 winter
season. Th e EDF, which fi led the court case resulting in the DC
Appeals Court decision this past summer, asked FERC to impose a
new rate design on the Spire Pipeline, in which 50 percent of return
and income taxes would be moved from the reservation to the usage
charge. FERC said that would not be consistent with Order No. 636.
FERC also ignored a separate NRDC and Sierra Club joint demand
that FERC levy economic penalties on Spire. Th e commission
answered, " We fi nd that such an action would not be appropriate
under these circumstances, particularly as no entity alleges that
Spire violated the NGA, the Commission's regulations, or the terms
of its certifi cate when it was eff ective. "
PHMSA Announces Long Awaited,
New Regulation of Gathering Lines
After a decade of consideration, the Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a fi nal rule
that creates two new classes of onshore gathering lines - R and C -
and imposes a series of regulations and compliance deadlines, which
the GPA Midstream Association (GPA) and American Petroleum
Institute (API) say will be very diffi cult - and expensive - to meet.
Th ose groups have asked PHMSA to reconsider provisions in the
rule and delay some of its deadlines.
Matt Hite, vice president of government aff airs, GPA, said " Our
major issue is the extremely short deadlines that are in the rules, "
he stated. " So, we support the rule, just not the deadlines and we are
pushing PHMSA to reconsider. "
Th ose Type R and C gathering lines compose about 90 percent
of the 400,000-plus miles of essentially unregulated Class 1 lines
found in mostly deserted, rural areas in the U.S. About 91,000 miles
will qualify as Type C lines. Th e fi nal rule requires operators of Type
R and Type C lines to comply with the incident reporting requirements,
eff ective as of May 16, 2022, and to submit annual reports
by March 15, 2023.
PHMSA said: " Th e information in the reports will help determine
the need for future regulatory changes to address the risks to the
public, property, and the environment posed by all types of pipeline
systems engaged in the transportation of gas. "
In terms of new safety requirements for Type C gathering lines,
those with an outside diameter greater than 16 inches and certain
others that could directly aff ect homes and other structures are re
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