[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 38 (Monday, February 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11527-11529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4405]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP12-51-000]


Bluewater Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed St. Clair River Crossing 
Replacement Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and 
Notice of Onsite Environmental 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 the Bluewater Gas Storage, LLC 
(Bluewater) St. Clair River Crossing Replacement Project (Project) 
involving the construction of the United States portion of the U.S.-
Canada cross-border pipeline facilities from St. Clair County, Michigan 
to the international boundary within the St. Clair River for the 
import-export of up to 300 million cubic feet per day (MMCf/d) of 
natural gas. 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 project scoping period will close on March 17, 2012. Further 
details on how to submit written comments are provided in the Public 
Participation section of this notice.
    The office of Energy Projects staff will conduct an onsite 
environmental review of the project area to gather data for its 
environmental analysis of the proposed project. Viewing of the project 
area is anticipated to be from Bluewater's property along River Road. 
Those attending should meet at the following location and time: FERC 
Onsite Environmental Review, St. Clair River Crossing Replacement 
Project, February 28, 2012 at 9 a.m. Eastern Time, 1060 River Road, 
Marysville, Michigan 48040-1510.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project as described under the Environmental 
Mailing List Section of this notice. The notice is also being sent to 
those landowners outside of the immediate construction work areas who 
could potentially be affected during construction from secondary, 
short-term construction-related noise and/or visual impacts. State and 
local government representatives are asked to notify their constituents 
of this proposed project and encourage them to comment on their areas 
of concern.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, and you are contacted 
by a representative of Bluewater about the acquisition of an easement 
to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities, please 
note that the company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable 
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that 
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if 
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the company could 
initiate condemnation proceedings where compensation would be 
determined in accordance with state law.
    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 Bluewater 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 Web site (www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Bluewater proposes to construct and operate a new natural gas 
pipeline directionally drilled underneath the St. Clair River from 
Bluewater's header system in St. Clair County, Michigan to the 
International Border. The proposed Project would consist of:
     The construction and operation of approximately 1,500 feet 
of 20-inch-diameter pipeline directionally drilled underneath the St. 
Clair River to the international border (Cross Border Facilities) 
within the St. Clair River and construction of approximately 345 feet 
of 20-inch-diameter replacement pipeline facilities \1\ to connect the 
Cross-Border Facilities to Bluewater's existing 30-mile, 20-inch-
diameter pipeline header system in Marysville, St. Clair County, 
Michigan;
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    \1\ Requested under Bluewater's existing National Gas Act 
Section 7 Blanket Certificate.
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     A Presidential Permit authorizing Bluewater to install, 
construct, own, operate and maintain the U.S. portion of the cross-
border facilities, pursuant to Part 153, Subpart C of the Commission's 
regulations, and Executive Order No. 10,485, as amended by Executive 
Order No. 12,038;
     Vacating an existing Section 3 Authorization and 
Presidential Permit with respect to leased facilities with Nova 
Chemicals;
     Remove approximately 245 feet of 20-inch-diameter pipeline 
and 30 feet of 12-inch-diameter pipeline; \2\ and
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    \2\ Ibid.
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     Modify an existing meter station to increase its 
measurement capacity.\2\
    The general location of the Project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the Project pipeline facilities would be conducted 
by the horizontal directional drilling method (HDD) from a location 
approximately 425 feet on the U.S. inland side of the St. Clair River 
(entry point) to the U.S.-Canada international border within the river 
(Appendix 1). The Project would permanently disturb about 0.95 acres of 
land.

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 
\3\ 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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    \3\ ``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;
     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

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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 of this notice.
    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 Natural Historic Preservation 
Act

    In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 
implementing regulations for section 106 of the Natural Historic 
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation 
with applicable State Historic Preservation Office(s) (SHPO), and to 
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested 
Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on 
historic properties.\4\ We will define the project-specific Area of 
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO(s) as the project 
is 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 would document our 
findings on the potential project impacts on historic properties and 
summarize the status of consultations under section 106.
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    \4\ 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 Natural Register of Historic 
Places.
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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 March 17, 
2012.
    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 (CP12-51-000) 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 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 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; Native 
American Tribes; environmental and public interest groups; 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. In this notice we have also included 
landowners that could be inadvertently affected by construction noise 
or visual impacts. 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. 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 project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the 
FERC Web site at 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., CP12-
51). 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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/

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EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: February 16, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-4405 Filed 2-24-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P