Spire STL Pipeline
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Spire STL Pipeline is a natural gas pipeline.
Location
The pipeline runs through Scott, Greene and Jersey counties in Illinois, and St. Charles and St. Louis counties in Missouri.[1][2]
Project details
- Operator: Spire STL Pipeline LLC[3]
- Owner: Spire STL Pipeline LLC[4]
- Parent company: Spire STL Pipeline LLC
- Capacity: 400 Million cubic feet per day[4]
- Length: 65 miles / 104.6 km[4]
- Diameter: 24 inches[4]
- Status: Operating[4]
- Start year: 2019[4]
- Cost: $295 million[4]
Background
The Spire STL Pipeline is owned and operated by Spire STL Pipeline LLC.[3] The pipeline would interconnect with the existing Rockies Express Pipeline in Scott County, Illinois.[1]
In July of 2016, Spire Energy applied to FERC to build the pipeline.[5] In August of 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved an order issuing a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Spire STL Pipeline, with this approval, the pipeline can move forward with land acquisition and other pre-construction activities.[6]
In February of 2019, land was being cleared for construction which was expected to be complete by July 2019.[7]
In August of 2019, Spire STL Pipeline filed an amended application with FERC requesting approval of revised recourse rates due to an increase in estimated construction costs. Spire says historic flooding of major rivers along the pipeline route has caused construction delays, which it warned will cause construction costs to exceed $240M, the top end of the range of estimated costs, and that the expected in-service date would shift to later in 2019.[8]
The pipeline was put into service in the first quarter of 2020.[9]
In December 2022, FERC reissued a permanent Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Spire STL Pipeline.[10]
Environmental impact
FERC issued its Environmental Assessment of the pipeline in September 2017.[11] The EA assesses the pipeline's impact on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). "The Project would deliver up to 400,000 Dth/d of natural gas volumes, which can produce 7.7 million metric tons of CO2 per year from end-use combustion (USEPA 2017d). However, as described in Section A.2 (Purpose and Need), this Project was not developed to serve new demand. Thus, the majority of the natural gas provided by the Spire STL Pipeline Project would be replacing, not adding to, other fuel sources that are currently contributing GHGs to the atmosphere. Therefore, we do not anticipate that the end-use would represent new GHG emissions."[11]
Regulatory issues
In June 2021, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) brought a lawsuit against FERC to the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit, arguing that when FERC originally issued the pipeline's certificate in 2018, it did not justify that the "costly pipeline was needed and beneficial". FERC's initial approval justified the decision by noting that another pipeline existed to deliver natural gas to the St. Louis area. However, gas demand in the St. Louis area was not projected to change substantially in the near-term future. The EDF challenged this decision, pointing out that FERC had not determined whether the pipeline's benefits would outweigh its adverse effects.[12] The appeals court agreed with EDF, vacating the original certificate and remanding it back to FERC. Such a decision would typically require an immediate pause in pipeline operations, but the court agreed to allow a temporary operating certificate valid through December 13, 2021.[13]
In November 2021, FERC commissioners supported a longer extension of the temporary certificate, after a public relations campaign by the pipeline operator threatening utility customers that they would be without gas heat in the winter of 2021–2022.[14]
On December 3, 2021, FERC extended this temporary certificate out through April 1, 2021.[15]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Spire files for 40,000-dthd-rex lateral to serve St. Louis market, Natural Gas Intelligence, Feb. 9, 2017
- ↑ National Energy and Petrochemical Map , FracTracker, February 28, 2020
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Spire STL Pipeline: Project Overview, Spire Energy, accessed January 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Natural Gas Data, Pipeline Projects Energy Information Agency, August 30, 2023
- ↑ Spire STL Pipeline: Project Timeline, Spire Energy, accessed January 2018
- ↑ Spire STL Pipeline Receives Federal Approval, Market Watch, August 3, 2018
- ↑ Workers prepping for pipeline bore across Mississippi, Hearst Illinois, Feb. 10, 2019
- ↑ Spire requests revised recourse rates as pipeline construction costs rise, Seeking Alpha, August 22, 2019
- ↑ "Spire Reports First Quarter Results", Yahoo! Finance, Feb. 4, 2020
- ↑ Spire Inc. "Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issues certificate affirming necessity of Spire STL Pipeline". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Spire STL Pipeline Project, Environmental Assessment, FERC, September 2017
- ↑ "Spire Pipeline Decision" (PDF). EDF. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "FERC Commissioners Unanimously Support Extending Pipeline Certificate, Allaying Anxiety in St. Louis Caused by Spire PR Campaign". Environmental Defense Fund. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ↑ "FERC Commissioners Unanimously Support Extending Pipeline Certificate, Allaying Anxiety in St. Louis Caused by Spire PR Campaign". Environmental Defense Fund. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
- ↑ "Spire pipeline can temporarily continue operations". ksdk.com. Retrieved 2021-12-06.
