[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 65 (Tuesday, April 5, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18751-18753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-8030]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP11-128-000; Docket No. CP11-133-000]


National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation; Tennessee Gas Pipeline 
Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for 
the Proposed Northern Access Project and Station 230c Project, Request 
for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public 
Environmental Site Review

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of two related projects proposed by 
National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (National Fuel) and Tennessee Gas 
Pipeline Company (TGP). National Fuel's Northern Access Project would 
involve construction and operation of facilities in Erie County, New 
York and Potter County, Pennsylvania. TGP's Station 230C Project would 
involve construction and operation of facilities in Niagara County, New 
York. This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making 
process to determine whether these projects are 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 projects. 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 April 28, 2011.
    Commission staff will conduct two onsite environmental reviews of 
National Fuel's proposed East Aurora Compressor Station site and its 
Ellisburg Compressor Station expansion. All interested parties planning 
to attend must provide their own transportation. Those attending should 
meet at the following locations:

East Aurora Compressor Station Site Review April 11, 2011, at 2 pm, 
Meet at Tops Plaza, 65 Grey Street, East Aurora, New York 14052.
Ellisburg Compressor Station Site Review April 14, 2011, at 8 am, Meet 
at the Westgate Inn Hotel (Lobby), 307 Route 6 West, Coudersport, 
Pennsylvania 16915.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's environmental mailing 
list for these projects. State and local government representatives are 
asked to notify their constituents of these proposed projects and 
encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice National Fuel and TGP provided to landowners. This fact 
sheet addresses a number of typically-asked questions, including the 
use of eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's 
proceedings. It is also available for viewing on the FERC website 
(http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Projects

    National Fuel's proposed Northern Access Project would provide 
about 320,000 dekatherms per day of firm Marcellus Shale natural gas 
transportation service to northeastern and Canadian markets. The 
Northern Access Project would consist of the following:
     A new East Aurora Compressor Station, totaling 4,470-
horsepower (hp), and auxiliary facilities in Erie County, New York;
     Piping modifications at the existing Concord Compressor 
Station in Erie County, New York to permit bidirectional flow;
     Two additional compressor units, totaling 9,470-hp, at the 
existing Ellisburg Compressor Station in Potter County, Pennsylvania; 
and
     Upgrades to the existing Rose Lake Interconnection 
metering facilities at the Ellisburg Compressor Station.
    TGP's proposed project would include upgrades and modifications at 
its existing Compressor Station 230C in Niagara County, New York, 
located on the Niagara Spur Loop Line (NSLL). TGP states that the 
purpose of the Station 230C Project is to make the NSLL facilities, 
jointly owned with National Fuel, a bi-directional pipeline. TGP's and 
National Fuel's projects would make the proposed receipt and delivery 
service available to the northeastern and Canadian markets. TGP's 
project would consist of the following facilities at the Compressor 
Station 230C:
     Abandonment by replacement of the A2 and A3 compressor 
engines;
     Restaging of centrifugal compressors for units A2, A3, and 
A4 to match bi-directional flow conditions;
     Piping modifications to allow reverse flow;
     New discharge flow check meters and check valves along the 
existing 20- and 30-inch pipelines;
     New station discharge cooling equipment; and
     Modification to station automation systems and 
installation of yard valves to allow bi-directional flow.
    The general locations of the projects' facilities are 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 two pages of this notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the Northern Access Project facilities would 
disturb a total of about 12.6 acres of land for the aboveground 
facilities. Following construction, a total of about 11.4 acres would 
be maintained for permanent operation of the project's facilities.
    Construction of the Station 230C Project facilities would disturb 
about 7 acres of land for the compressor station upgrades and 
modifications; this includes 4.6 acres of temporary workspace outside 
the existing station fence line. About 2.4 acres of land within the 
station fence line would be required for operation of the project 
facilities.

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 projects under these 
general headings:
     Geology and Soils;
     Land Use;
     Water Resources, Fisheries, and Wetlands;
     Endangered and Threatened Species;

[[Page 18752]]

     Vegetation and Wildlife;
     Cultural Resources;
     Air Quality and Noise; and
     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
projects or portions of the projects, 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 beginning on page 5.
    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.

Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic 
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation 
with applicable State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO), and to 
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested 
Indian tribes, and the public on the projects' potential effects on 
historic properties.\3\ We will define the project-specific Area of 
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs as the projects 
are further developed. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a 
minimum encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples 
include construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, 
compressor stations, and access roads). Our EA for these projects will 
document our findings on the impacts on historic properties and 
summarize the status of consultations under section 106.
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    \3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic 
properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic 
Places.
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Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the projects. 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 April 28, 
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 numbers (CP11-128-000 and CP11-133-000) 
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:

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; 
environmental and public interest groups; 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 projects. 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 projects.
    If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would 
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD 
version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please 
return the attached Information Request (appendix 2).

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 projects 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., CP11-128 or CP11-133). 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

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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.

    Dated: March 29, 2011.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-8030 Filed 4-4-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P