Environment & Safety
The Natural Gas Industry and the Environment
Natural gas is a clean-burning fuel; its combustion emits fewer pollutants into the atmosphere than other fossil fuels. As the cleanest of the fossil fuels, natural gas can be used in many ways to help reduce the emissions of harmful pollutants into the atmosphere.| Fossil Fuel Emission Levels Pounds per Billion Btu of Energy Input |
|||
| Pollutant | Natural Gas | Oil | Coal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon Dioxide | 117,000 | 164,000 | 208,000 |
| Carbon Monoxide | 40 | 33 | 208 |
| Nitrogen Oxides | 92 | 448 | 457 |
| Sulfur Dioxide | 1 | 1,122 | 2,591 |
| Particulates | 7 | 84 | 2,744 |
| Mercury | 0.000 | 0.007 | 0.016 |
| Source: EIA - Natural Gas Issues and Trends 1998 | |||
Natural gas storage is a regulated business that is required to maintain strict safety and environmental controls. Natural gas storage in a depleted reservoir, like the Sawgrass Storage facility, mimics nature's way of safely storing natural gas for millions of years. The Sawgrass facility is designed to meet or exceed all regulatory and modern industrial safety standards, employing the latest technologies and engineering.
Construction and operation of the Sawgrass facility will have minimal impact on the environment and on nearby landowners. The storage facility and pipeline corridor are located in a largely rural area with widely scattered residences and agricultural operations. The proposed project pipeline route takes care to avoid environmentally sensitive wildlife areas.
Sawgrass will work closely with federal, state, and local authorities when siting and constructing the storage facility and pipeline. Sawgrass also plans to construct and operate the proposed facility in a manner consistent with all applicable safety regulations and industry best practices.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), an independent federal agency that regulates the interstate transmission of natural gas, will have primary responsibility for overseeing the permitting and construction of the project. Sawgrass has filed for certification from FERC.
Sawgrass is committed to employing a collaborative approach in establishing good relationships with the landowners and local community who will be the neighbors of our facilities. Landowners interested in learning more about pipelines and storage facilities can read FERC's updated document:
An Interstate Natural Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I Need to Know? (pdf, 2.58 MB)
As part of its permitting review, FERC is conducting an Environmental Assessment of the Project in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act. FERC has used a scoping process for the Assessment to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the Project.
