In April 2015 MDN told you that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will not be involved with approving or overseeing construction for Kinder Morgan’s UTOPIA (Utica To Ontario Pipeline Access) ethane pipeline (see FERC Will Not Oversee UTOPIA NGL Pipeline Project in Ohio). Why not? Because UTOPIA, a 12-inch ethane pipeline running 240 miles will only be built in Ohio–it won’t cross state lines. It will, however, connect to another pipeline that crosses Michigan and enters Canada where the ethane (and some propane) will feed a NOVA Chemical cracker plant in Windsor, Ontario. Because it’s all within Ohio, the lead agency for approval and oversight for UTOPIA will be the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with an assist from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR), the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Kinder is saying they are ready to move forward with the UTOPIA project and will file for the necessary permits from state and federal authorities “within the next few months”…
