BY BRENDAN GIBBONS
Times Shamrock Writer

A massive pipeline expansion that would connect Pennsylvania natural gas to major Eastern seaboard markets is one step closer after the company filed its application Tuesday.

Energy midstream company Williams has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to approve its “Atlantic Sunrise” plan to build branches off its existing Transco Gas Pipeline, a 10,000-plus-mile system running from the Texas Gulf to greater New York City.

With plans to ship more than 1.7 billion cubic feet of gas per day on these new north-to-south branches, Atlantic Sunrise is the largest of the seven interstate transmission pipeline projects affecting Northeast Pennsylvania now in some phase of proposal, review or construction.

The $2.59 billion project represents a sizeable chunk of a total 9.1 billion cubic feet of additional Northeast Pennsylvania pipeline capacity set to be in place by 2018, as reported in a November webinar by analytics firm Bentek Energy.

Anadarko Energy Services Co., Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., Chief Oil & Gas LLC, Inflection Energy LLC, MMGS Inc., Seneca Resources Corp., Southern Company Services Inc., Southwestern Energy Services Co. and WGL Midstream have signed up for a piece of the new capacity.

Cabot takes half
Cabot’s gas will take up the bulk of the new space. The company signed up for about 850 million cubic feet a day, half the total capacity. The line would connect Cabot gas to a line owned by Dominion Resources in Fairfax County, Virginia. Cabot has agreed to provide Dominion 350 million cubic feet per day to export at its Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland, which began construction last week.

To ship its gas, Cabot requires 57 miles of brand-new 30-inch line from Susquehanna County to Columbia County, Williams’ application states.

Atlantic Sunrise also calls for 125 miles of 42-inch line from Columbia County to Lancaster County, plus parallel lines on various existing pipeline sections, extra compression and other above-ground facilities at points along Williams’ Transco system.

Can take properties
If approved by the FERC, the company will be endowed with eminent domain power under the Natural Gas Act to condemn properties it needs for the line, though it must provide fair compensation.

For affected landowners, now is the time to examine your property and determine what features and uses are important to you, Scranton energy and environmental attorney Stephen Saunders said.

Williams wants to place the project in service by July 1, 2017. Mr. Saunders recommended bringing these issues to Williams’ and the FERC’s attention before early 2016, at the latest. The longer one waits, the more definite the pipeline route becomes.

“You’re going to find yourself in a situation where you’ve got no leverage because the pipeline route is completely set,” he said.

While now is a little early to begin negotiating over prices, Mr. Saunders recommends researching local property values and speaking to Realtors to understand the property’s true value.

Blakely landowner attorney Douglas Clark has also represented landowners affected by interstate lines. Getting the best possible compensation from a pipeline company is tricky, he said. He has seen offers increase after the initial offer, but there is no way to know how many offers there will be or if the company will decide to resort to eminent domain instead.

“The scary thing is if you turn down an offer and then the offer comes back less,” he said.