The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Ruby Pipeline project - a significant step in expanding Wyoming's natural gas export capacity to the West Coast.

Ruby Pipeline, an entity of El Paso Corp., is competing against several other pipeline companies for a multi-billion-dollar connection from western Wyoming to southern Oregon. Ruby still needs to receive FERC approval on shipping rates and terms of service.

In issuing the draft EIS, FERC noted that the pipeline would result in adverse environmental impacts, but said most of the impacts could be mitigated. It�s a significant step forward for the pipeline effort because the proposed route spans large �greenfield� areas that do not already have linear infrastructure such as roads, power lines or other pipelines.

"Whenever it's a new pipeline route, you're going to have more concern than when you parallel an existing route," said Brian Jeffries, executive director of the Wyoming Pipeline Authority.

The 678-mile Ruby Pipeline would take natural gas from the Opal hub in western Wyoming and move it westward through Utah, Nevada and Oregon to serve West Coast markets. The pipeline would have a capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day - enough gas to serve 150,000 homes for a year.

Wyoming alone produced about 7.1 (Bcf) per day in October. Although natural gas production is expected to level off this year, Rockies production is expected to continue a long-term increase, well beyond the region's current export capacity of 8 Bcf per day.

Contact energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer at (307) 577-6069 or {M7dustin.bleizeffer@trib.com. Read his energy blog at tribtown.trib.com/DustinBleizeffer/blog.

The latest: The Ruby Pipeline proposal connecting 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day from Wyoming to the West Coast cleared a significant environmental permitting step this week.

What�s next: Natural gas production remains steady in the Rockies, but could flatline sometime this summer. Wyoming expects less revenue from natural gas in the near-term.]]->