联邦能源监管委员会取消了与工程师合同伯恩斯和麦克唐纳的合同，对弗吉尼亚州的1.427亿美元天然气传输项目进行了独立的环境评估，此前发现该公司也是由由同一管道拥有的单独项目的工程师总部位于加拿大的美国能源巨头TC Energy。
fercsaid in a letter last month to Houston-based Columbia Gas Transmission that agency staff identified an “organizational conflict of interest” related to Burns & McDonnell’s contract for a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assessment of the energy firm’s Virginia Electrification Project.
That project, proposed in September, includes replacing two gas-fired compressors with electric compressors to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expanding compressor stations to increase capacity on the Columbia Gas pipeline system.
该公司计划在2022年第四季度开始建设，其目标在2023年底。
A second Columbia Gas project, the $205-million Virginia Reliability Project was proposed to FERC on Dec. 1, two weeks after FERC selected Burns & McDonnell for the environmental work on the electrification project.
Burns＆McDonnell是该可靠性项目的工程师，其中包括减少温室气体排放的压缩机升级，并更换约48英里的现有天然气管道。预计建设将于2024年开始。
联系？
根据FERC提交的文件，这两个项目在同一哥伦比亚天然气管道上。新利18备用网址电气化项目涉及弗吉尼亚州彼得斯堡的压缩机，而可靠性项目则涉及该城市以南的管道置换和压缩机工作。
FERC，TC Energy或Burns＆McDonnell均未发布工程或NEPA合同的价值。
Itai Vardi, a research manager at San Francisco-based energy watchdog group Energy and Policy Institute told ENR that because both projects are linked, it “raises the real possibility that [Burns & McDonnell] has a financial stake in getting the Virginia Electrification Project, the project it's reviewing under NEPA, approved.”
Vardi,在本地出版物中的评论in Virginia related to the contract link appeared to have triggered FERC’s action, said the agency needs to take a close look at how the award happened, particularly given that it claims to vet third-party contractors for conflicts.
哥伦比亚气体在10月提交给tha FERC说t it had, after consulting with agency staff, begun the process of providing a third-party contractor reference to assist FERC staff in preparing the NEPA review. The energy firm issued a request for proposals on Sept. 24, with responses from three contractors, when bids closed on Oct. 5. Bidders’ names and proposals were marked “privileged and confidential” and not publicly available.
fercsays it selected Burns & McDonnell based on its “technical approach, personnel qualifications, past work history and clearance of any organizational conflict of interest.”
但是，瓦尔迪认为，该选择在FERC上引发了与潜在利益冲突有关的更广泛的流程问题，“允许管道申请人雇用并为经常在同一管道公司工作的行业第三方承包商雇用和付款。”
In a Nov. 18 letter to Columbia Gas approving Burns & McDonnell for the NEPA work, FERC said its staff “must have complete control over the scope, content and quality of the contractor’s work,” will independently evaluate the results and “bears ultimate responsibility for full compliance” with the law’s requirements.
Burns＆McDonnell高级副总裁史蒂夫·纳利夫斯基（Steve Nalefski）告诉ENR，该公司在通过技术和新利18备用成本提案的竞争招标做出回应后被授予合同。
他说：“我们的理解是，弗吉尼亚可靠性项目是一个扩展和可靠性驱动的项目，弗吉尼亚电气化项目是一个减少温室气体的项目。”新利18备用网址第三方承包商支持的招标。”
因此，该公司没有将其对可靠性项目的支持是与电气化项目的第三方审查角色的冲突。
