[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 1 (Wednesday, January 2, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 146-147]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-31520]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket ID PHMSA-2012-0175]


Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact for the Longhorn Pipeline Reversal 
Project

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
DOT.

ACTION: Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Assessment and 
Finding of No Significant Impact for the Longhorn Pipeline Reversal 
Project.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347, and the Council on Environmental Quality 
NEPA implementing regulations, 40 CFR parts 1500-1508, the Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is announcing the 
availability of the Final Environmental Assessment (FEA) and Finding of 
No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the Longhorn Pipeline Reversal 
Project (Project).
    PHMSA has posted the FEA and FONSI online at http://www.regulations.gov in docket number PHMSA-2012-0175.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amelia Samaras, Attorney, Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of Chief Counsel, 
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590; by phone at 202-366-
4362; or email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Longhorn Pipeline runs from El Paso, 
Texas to Houston, Texas and is owned and operated by Magellan Pipeline 
Company, L.P. (Magellan). The Longhorn Pipeline currently transports 
refined petroleum products from east to west (Houston to El Paso). The 
Project will convert the segment of the Longhorn Pipeline that runs 
from Crane, Texas to Houston, Texas to crude oil service and will 
reverse the flow so that crude oil flows from west to east (Crane to 
Houston). At Crane, refined products will enter the pipeline and move 
west to El Paso, Texas. The refined products will enter the Longhorn 
Pipeline via an existing pipeline segment that connects the Longhorn 
Pipeline to the existing Orion West Pipeline located to the north of 
the Longhorn Pipeline. The Orion West Pipeline runs from Frost, Texas 
to El Paso and is also owned and operated by Magellan.
    PHMSA regulates the transportation of hazardous liquids via 
pipeline and also issues and enforces pipeline safety regulations that 
dictate requirements for construction, design, testing, operation, and 
maintenance of natural gas and hazardous liquid (including crude oil, 
petroleum products, and anhydrous ammonia) pipelines. PHMSA does not 
typically serve as lead agency for pipeline construction projects, as 
it has no authority over pipeline siting and does not issue any 
approval or authorization to commence a pipeline construction project. 
However, a settlement agreement specific to the Longhorn Pipeline 
titled ``The Longhorn Mitigation Plan'' (LMP) resulted from litigation 
associated with changes made to the Longhorn Pipeline in 1999. The LMP 
provides PHMSA with broader responsibility and oversight of the 
Longhorn Pipeline than it would have under normal circumstances. 
Accordingly, PHMSA has issued an FEA in order to analyze the impacts of 
the Project.
    The Project requires upgrades to the pipeline and will include 
construction of a six-mile refined product pipeline segment in El Paso, 
a three-mile crude oil pipeline segment from 9th Street Junction to 
Speed Junction in Houston, and an eight-mile refined product pipeline 
segment from East Houston to Holland Avenue in Houston. As part of the 
Project, in order to facilitate reversal and increased capacity, 
Magellan will modify and upgrade existing infrastructure by 
constructing new pump stations and terminals at various locations along 
the Longhorn and Orion Pipelines' right-of-ways. Although not 
originally included in the LMP, activities along the Orion West 
Pipeline and the segment from Odessa to Crane that will take place as a 
result of the Project are analyzed in the FEA as connected actions.
    PHMSA published the draft environmental assessment for this project 
for public comment on July 31, 2012. PHMSA received 48 comments. All 
but three of the comments were form letters in support of the project. 
Two comments raised environmental concerns about the project.
    The FEA analyzes the changes that will take place as a result of 
the Project and connected actions and how the changes could impact the 
human environment during construction, normal operations, and in the 
unlikely event of a release. The FEA also analyzes the condition of the 
Longhorn Pipeline and how the change in product and direction will 
affect the pipeline. Based on the analysis presented in the FEA, PHMSA 
has determined that the

[[Page 147]]

Project will not result in significant environmental impacts.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on December 27, 2012.
Alan K. Mayberry,
Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations.
[FR Doc. 2012-31520 Filed 12-31-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P