[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 154 (Monday, August 11, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46791-46793]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18948]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP14-498-000]


Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Zone 3 East-To-West Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

    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 Zone 3 East-to-West Project 
(Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by Rockies 
Express Pipeline, LLC (Rockies Express) in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. 
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 September 4, 2014. Further details on 
how to submit written comments are in the Public Participation section 
of this notice.
    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 proposed 
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 proposed 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.
    Rockies Express provided landowners with a fact sheet prepared by 
the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What 
Do I Need To Know?'' 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

    The purpose of the Project is to enable bi-directional flow 
capability within Rockies Express Zone 3, thereby allowing the existing 
42'' Rockies Express Pipeline to offer an additional 1,200,000 
dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of east-to-west firm transportation of 
Appalachian Basin gas production to Midwestern gas markets, while 
maintaining existing firm transportation commitments stations, over 
pressure protection addition to Zone 3 delivery interconnects, and 
modifications to four existing delivery interconnects.

Modifications to Existing Compressor Stations

     Station piping to provide bi-directional flow at the 
existing Chandlersville, Hamilton, and Bainbridge Compressor Stations 
in Muskingum County and Warren County, Ohio; and Putnam County, 
Indiana; and
     mainline pressure regulation facilities at the existing 
Blue Mound

[[Page 46792]]

Compressor Station in Christian County, Illinois.

Over Pressure Protection Addition to Zone 3 Delivery Interconnects

     Over pressure protection facilities at the Clarington Hub 
encompassing three delivery interconnects (Dominion Transmission, 
Dominion East Ohio, and Texas Eastern Transmission) in Monroe County, 
Ohio; and
     over pressure protection facilities at the Panhandle 
Eastern Pipeline Company (PEPL) Putnam delivery interconnect in Putnam 
County, Indiana.

Modifications to Existing Delivery Interconnects

     Facility modifications at existing delivery interconnect 
at PEPL Putnam in Putnam County, Indiana; Midwestern Edgar in Edgar 
County, Illinois; Trunkline Douglas in Douglas County, Illinois; and 
NGPL Moultrie in Moultrie County, Illinois. 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 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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Land Requirements for Construction

    The total land requirement for construction of the Project is about 
10.2 acres, of which 6.1 acres would be permanently affected by the 
facilities operation.

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. The 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 proposed Project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     land use;
     water bodies, 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.
    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 making 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. 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 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.\3\ We will define the Project-specific Area of 
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs as the project 
develops. On natural gas 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 this Project will document our findings on 
the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status on 
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 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 in your comments 
so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before September 
4, 2014.
    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 (CP14-498-000) 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 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 groups and non-

[[Page 46793]]

governmental organizations; interested Indian 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. If you would 
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the compact 
disc 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., 
CP14-498). 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/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: August 5, 2014.
 Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-18948 Filed 8-8-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P