[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2365-2367]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-535]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP11-39-000]


Dominion Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Northeast Expansion Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 5, 2011.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the Northeast Expansion Project 
(Project) proposed by Dominion Transmission, Inc. (DTI). The Project 
consists of a total of 32,440 horsepower (hp) of compression to be 
installed at three existing compressor stations, a new meter station, 
and an upgrade at an existing regulator station, all located at 
existing DTI facilities in Pennsylvania. This EA will be used by the 
Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether the 
Project is in the public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies on the Project. Your input will help the Commission staff 
determine what issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on February 4, 2011.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this Project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned 
Project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    DTI is seeking authorization to construct, own, and operate the 
proposed Project, which would involve expansion at several of DTI's 
existing aboveground facilities in Western

[[Page 2366]]

Pennsylvania. DTI is proposing to install additional compression units 
at its existing Punxsutawney, Ardell, and Finnefrock Compressor Station 
in Jefferson/Indiana, Elk, and Clinton Counties, Pennsylvania. All 
construction would take place within the stations fence lines and in 
adjacent stations areas within DTI's property boundaries. DTI states 
that the Project would provide 200,000 dekatherms per day of firm 
transportation services in Pennsylvania, creating increased access for 
production in this region to major natural gas markets of the Northeast 
and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.
    The proposed Project consists of the following:
     Punxsutawney Compressor Station--install one gas turbine/
compressor package that would consist of a Solar C404 compressor driven 
by a Solar Centaur gas turbine rated at 6,130 hp. The turbine would be 
fueled by natural gas and would be placed in a new compressor building.
     Ardell Compressor Station--install one gas turbine/
compressor package that would consist of a Solar C45 compressor driven 
by a Solar Taurus 70 gas turbine rated at 10,310 hp. The turbine would 
be fueled by natural gas and would be placed in a new compressor 
building.
     Finnefrock Compressor Station--install one gas turbine/
compressor package that would consist of a Solar C453 centrifugal 
compressor driven by a Solar Mars 100 gas turbine, rated at 16,000 hp.
     Leidy Compressor Station--upgrade an existing Measurement 
and Regulation (M&R) facility within the fence line of the Leidy 
Compressor Station.
     Punxsutawney Compressor Station--install one new crossover 
line with M&R which links the existing suction piping to LN-280.
    The general location of the Project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to 
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
http://www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the 
Commission's Public Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on 
connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.
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Land Requirement for Construction

    Construction of the Project would involve temporary disturbance of 
a total of 41.5 acres of land with DTI's property boundaries which 
would include an 18.2 acres within existing compressor station fence 
lines and 23.2 acres within DTI's property. For construction activities 
within DTI's property, 14.6 acres would be required for the 
Punxsutawney Station, 1.4 acres for the Ardell Station, and 6.2 acres 
for the Finnefrock Station. DTI would utilize the construction work 
areas for equipment and materials laydown, and parking. Following 
construction, these construction work areas would be restored, 
stabilized, and seeded. Operation of the Project would involve 1.9 
acres of lands.

The EA Process

    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the 
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could 
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us 
\2\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping''. The main goal of 
the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments 
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the proposed Project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife, including migratory birds;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species; and
     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
Project or portions of the Project, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
The EA will be placed in the public record and, depending on the 
comments received during the scoping process, may be published and 
distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA 
is published for review. We will consider all comments on the EA before 
we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments 
are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 
Participation section below.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may 
choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to 
their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating 
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments 
provided under the Public Participation section of this notice.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the Project. Your comments should focus on 
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your 
comments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so 
that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before February 4, 
2011.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the Project docket number (CP11-39-000) with your submission. 
The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert 
eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or 
[email protected].
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an 
easy method for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments 
on a project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling you 
can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a 
file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an 
account by clicking on ``eRegister.'' You will be asked to select the 
type of filing you are making. A comment on a particular project is 
considered a ``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You may file a paper copy of your comments at the following 
address:

[[Page 2367]]

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes Federal, State, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; Native 
American Tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries and 
newspapers. This list also includes all affected landowners (as defined 
in the Commission's regulations) who are potential right-of-way 
grantors, whose property may be used temporarily for project purposes, 
or who own homes within certain distances of aboveground facilities, 
and anyone who submits comments on the Project. We will update the 
environmental mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we 
send the information related to this environmental review to all 
individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/
or potentially affected by the proposed Project.
    If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list for public review and comment.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the 
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the 
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard 
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. 
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a 
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are 
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 
Commission's Web site.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the Project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the 
FERC Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Click 
on the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket 
number, excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field 
(i.e., CP11-39). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. 
For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, 
contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the 
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 
notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances 
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time 
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to 
the documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-535 Filed 1-12-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P