U.S. government officials selected a pair of multibillion-dollar natural gas pipeline projects for fast-track permits in a push for the Trump administration’s favorite projects.
The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council approved Southern Natural Gas Co.’s $3.5 billion Southern System 4 expansion. LLC and Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.’s $1.7 billion Mississippi Crossing. LLC for FAST-41 eligibility in November.
Projects on this board, created under Title 41 of the American Surface Transportation (FAST) Act of 2015, may be part of an expedited federal permitting process.
“We are excited to add more pipeline projects to our permitting board and continue to develop the domestic energy resources needed to meet baseload energy demand in the Southeast,” Emily Domenech, the council’s chief executive, said in a statement.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will lead the FAST-41 permit.
The Southern System 4 expansion would increase capacity on Southern Gas Co.’s Southern Mainline. at about 1.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, according to terminal operator Kinder Morgan, which co-owns the project’s developer with Southern Co. The new pipeline would make improvements by supplementing about 291 miles of existing infrastructure between Clarke County, Mississippi, and Savannah, Georgia, with a line that runs 34.2 km to 34.2 km. The company says it plans to build the expansion in two phases. With the accelerated permits, it expects to complete the first and second phases of the project in 2028 and 2029, respectively.
Mississippi Crossing would be a new pipeline made of 42-inch-diameter and 36-inch-diameter pipes stretching about 208 miles between Greenville, Mississippi, and Butler, Alabama, with a projected capacity of 2.1 billion cubic feet per day. Under the permits, construction of the line could be completed by 2027 and operational as early as November 2028, according to Kinder Morgan, which owns the Tennessee Gas Pipeline. Its construction would involve around 750 workers.
Kinder Morgan did not respond to inquiries about its contractors on the project.
The council uses its FAST-41 panel to coordinate multi-agency federal reviews to expedite permits for qualifying projects, which include infrastructure related to power generation and transmission, surface transportation, aviation, ports and waterways, water resources projects, broadband, pipelines and manufacturing. President Donald Trump has also directed the council to include projects such as mineral production facilities and data centers.
“Given the size and complexity of each project, the number of federal agencies involved, and the need for these projects … we believe the [council’s] additional coordination, oversight and leadership … can help us bring these projects to fruition quickly,” Ernesto Ochoa, Kinder Morgan vice president and chief commercial officer, said in a statement.
But the projects have opponents. “This isn’t just another pipeline project, it’s a nearly 300-mile fossil fuel Super Highway, and it will tear through Alabama and Georgia directly impacting communities, water resources, ratepayers and customers along the way.” said Megan Gibson, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center, in an August protest at the agency about whether the need for the South System Expansion 4 project has been substantially revised.
The projects were added to the FAST-41 dashboard during the recent 43-day government shutdown. Domenech announced to agencies at the outset that expedited permits would continue through the fiscal year for projects favored by the administration because the council is funded through an independent Environmental Review Improvement Fund instead of annual appropriations.
