[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 251 (Tuesday, December 31, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79688-79690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31255]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF14-4-000]


Paiute Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Planned 2015 Elko Area Expansion 
Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of 
Public Scoping Meeting

    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 2015 Elko Area Expansion 
Project (Elko Expansion Project or Project) involving construction and 
operation of facilities by Paiute Pipeline Company (Paiute) in Elko 
County, Nevada. The Commission will use this EA 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 they need to evaluate in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on January 22, 2014.
    You may submit comments in written form or verbally. Further 
details on how to submit written comments are in the Public 
Participation section of this notice. In lieu of or in addition to 
sending written comments, the Commission invites you to attend the 
public scoping meeting scheduled as follows: FERC Public Scoping 
Meeting, 2015 Elko Area Expansion Project, January 14, 2014 at 6:00 
p.m. Pacific Standard Time, Elko Convention Center, 700 Moren Way, 
Elko, Nevada 89801.
    This public meeting is designed to provide you with more detailed 
information and another opportunity to offer your comments on the 
Project. Paiute representatives will be present one hour before the 
meeting (starting at 5:00 p.m.) to describe the Project, present maps, 
and answer questions. Interested groups and individuals are encouraged 
to attend the meeting and present comments on the issues they believe 
should be addressed in the EA. A transcript of the meeting will be made 
so that your comments will be accurately recorded.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this Project. State and local government 
representatives should notify their constituents of this planned 
Project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, a pipeline company 
representative may contact you about the acquisition of an easement to 
construct, operate, and maintain the planned facilities. The company 
would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. However, if 
the Commission approves the Project, that approval conveys with it the 
right of eminent domain. Therefore, if easement negotiations fail to 
produce an agreement, the pipeline 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?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). This

[[Page 79689]]

fact sheet addresses a number of typically-asked questions, including 
the use of eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's 
proceedings.

Summary of the Planned Project

    Paiute plans to construct and operate approximately 35 miles of new 
underground natural gas pipeline and appurtenant facilities in Elko 
County, Nevada, extending from the Ruby Pipeline, LLC (Ruby) Wieland 
Flat Compressor Station facility to Paiute's existing Elko Lateral at 
its Elko City Gate. The purpose of the Project is to provide about 
21,994 dekatherms per day to the Elko area to meet the growth 
requirements of existing shippers served by Paiute's transmission 
system.
    The planned Elko Expansion Project would consist of the following 
facilities:
     Approximately 35 miles of 8-inch-diameter lateral natural 
gas pipeline;
     The Ruby Interconnect Station, at Ruby's Wieland Flat 
Compressor Station;
     A pressure limiting station (PLS) to be tied into Paiute's 
existing Elko 6-inch-diameter pipeline lateral; and
     Valves and various appurtenances.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
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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    Construction work is scheduled to start in the 2nd Quarter of 2015 
and the projected in-service date of the Project is November 2015.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the planned facilities would disturb about 419.2 
acres of land for the aboveground facilities and the pipeline. 
Following construction, Paiute would maintain about 209.5 acres for 
permanent operation of the Project's facilities; the remaining acreage 
would be restored and revert to former uses. About 62 percent of the 
planned pipeline route parallels existing road rights-of-way. 
Approximately 57 percent of the planned pipeline route traverses 
federal land managed by the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) Elko District Office.

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. We will 
consider all filed comments 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 planned Project under these 
general headings:
     Geology, paleontology, and soils;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Endangered and threatened species;
     Land use;
     Cultural resources;
     Visual resources;
     Recreation;
     Air quality and noise;
     Public safety; and,
     Cumulative impacts.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned Project 
or portions of the Project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Although no formal application has been filed, we have already 
initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing process. 
The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement 
of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before 
the FERC receives an application. As part of our pre-filing review, we 
have begun to contact some federal and state agencies to discuss their 
involvement in the scoping process and the preparation of the EA.
    The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA 
will be available in the public record through eLibrary. Depending on 
the comments received during the scoping process, we may also publish 
and distribute the EA to the public for an allotted comment period. We 
will consider all comments on the EA before we make our recommendations 
to the Commission. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and 
address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the 
Public Participation section beginning on page 5.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law 
and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues 
related to this project to formally cooperate with us in the 
preparation of the EA.\3\ 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. The BLM indicated that it plans to be a cooperating agency in 
the preparation of the EA because the Project would cross federally 
administered lands in Nevada. As a cooperating agency, the BLM intends 
to adopt the EA per Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 
1506.3 to meet its responsibilities under NEPA regarding Paiute's 
application for a Right-of-Way Grant and Temporary Use Permit for 
crossing federally administered lands. Impacts on resources and 
programs, and the proposed Project's conformance with land use plans, 
will be considered in the BLM's decision.
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    \3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing 
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal 
Regulations, part 1501.6.
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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 the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office (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 as the Project 
develops. 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, 
interconnection stations, and access roads). Our EA for this project 
will document our findings on the impacts on historic properties and 
summarize the status of consultations under Section 106.
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    \4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, part 800. Those 
regulations define historic properties as any prehistoric or 
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in 
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic 
Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the

[[Page 79690]]

planned facilities and the environmental information provided by 
Paiute. This preliminary list of issues may change based on your 
comments and our analysis.
     Geology--Effects as a result of blasting to remove 
existing surface and bedrock during Project construction.
     Biological Resources--Effects on threatened and endangered 
species and sensitive habitats potentially occurring within or adjacent 
to the Project right-of-way.
     Land Use--Effects on private lands, public lands managed 
by the BLM, and traffic and transportation corridors from construction 
of Project facilities.
     Cultural Resources--Effects on archaeological sites and 
historic resources.
     Reliability and Safety--The assessment of hazards 
associated with natural gas pipelines and aboveground facilities.
     Recreation--Effects of establishing a new right-of-way and 
new access roads thereby potentially opening up a new area to 
recreational use.
     Vegetation Management--Effects related to the potential of 
an increase in invasive and noxious weeds resulting from establishing a 
new right-of-way.
     Visual Resources--Effects on visual resources during the 
construction and operation of the planned Project.

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 the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before 
January 22, 2014.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the 
Project docket number (PF14-4-000) with your submission. The Commission 
encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert staff available 
to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or [email protected].
    (1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment 
feature located on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the 
link to Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for interested 
persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a project;
    (2) You can file your comments electronically using the eFiling 
feature located on the Commission's Web site (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 must select the type of filing you are making. If 
you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select 
``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
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 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 
planned project.
    If we publish and distribute the EA, copies of completed EA 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

    Once Paiute files its application with the Commission, 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 in 
the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the Commission's Web 
site. Please note that the Commission will not accept requests for 
intervenor status at this time. You must wait until the Commission 
receives a formal application for the project.

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 (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., PF14-
4). 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 offers a free service called 
eSubscription that 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/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: December 23, 2013.
 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-31255 Filed 12-30-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P