The Spire STL natural gas pipeline in Missouri has lost a request to retain its federal operating certificate until it can pursue legal appeals with the US Supreme Court.
The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit today declined to delay its ruling from June that threw out the federal authorization for Spire STL. That will leave the 386mn cf/d (11mn m³/d) pipeline reliant on a temporary operating certificate from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that will stay in effect until 12 December.
Spire STL is at risk of having to shut down without a federal certificate, which the company says would risk gas supplies this winter to "hundreds of thousands" of homes and businesses around the St. Louis, Missouri. US utility Spire has said it has no practical way to replace the capacity the $220mn pipeline offers before the onset of winter.
The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The DC Circuit, in a 3-0 ruling on 22 June, threw out the pipeline's certificate after finding FERC ignored evidence of "self-dealing" in the contracts negotiated between Spire STL and Spire that showed the project was needed.
Spire STL has yet to file an appeal with the Supreme Court, but it wanted the decision placed on hold until that process concluded. The DC Circuit denied the request without elaborating.
FERC has the option to extend the temporary certificate past 13 December, but environmentalists have said if the agency does so it should impose conditions on the project's operations. Spire STL has argued those conditions could be "disruptive and costly."
