[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 209 (Wednesday, October 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64379-64382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-25627]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF14-18-000]


National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation Empire Pipeline, Inc.; 
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned 
Northern Access 2016 Project, Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings

    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 Northern Access 2016 Project 
(Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by 
National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (Supply) and Empire Pipeline Inc. 
(Empire) (collectively National Fuel) in Pennsylvania and New York. The

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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. The Commission 
staff will also use the scoping process to help determine whether 
preparation of an environmental impact statement is more appropriate 
for this Project based upon the potential significance of the 
anticipated levels of impact. Please note that the scoping period will 
close on November 21, 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 meetings scheduled as follows:

        FERC Public Scoping Meetings Northern Access 2016 Project
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             Date and time                           Location
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November 3, 2014, 7 p.m................  Doyle Hall, St. Bonaventure
                                          University, 3261 W. State St.,
                                          St. Bonaventure, NY 14778.
November 5, 2014, 7 p.m................  Springville-Griffith High
                                          School, 290 North Buffalo
                                          Street, Springville, NY 14141.
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    National Fuel staff will be available from 6:00-7:00 p.m., prior to 
the public scoping meetings at the locations listed above.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to 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 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

    National Fuel plans to construct and operate certain facilities in 
Pennsylvania and New York which collectively would provide about 
350,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of natural gas transportation 
service to the northeastern United States and Canada. Supply would 
provide approximately 350,000 Dth/d of new firm natural gas 
transportation service from a receipt point in McKean County, 
Pennsylvania to an interconnection with Empire's existing pipeline 
system in Niagara County, New York. Empire would provide approximately 
350,000 Dth/d of new firm transportation service from such Supply 
interconnection to Empire's existing interconnection with TransCanada 
Pipelines Limited.
    The planned project would consist of the following Supply 
components:
     Construction of approximately 97 miles of new 24-inch-
diameter pipeline, from Sergeant Township, McKean County, Pennsylvania, 
to an interconnection with Supply's existing Line X-North, near 
Supply's existing Porterville Compressor Station in the Town of Elma, 
Erie County, New York;

     an addition of approximately 5,000 horsepower to 
Porterville Compressor Station; and
     an interconnection with Tennessee Gas Pipeline's 200 Line 
in the Town of Wales, Erie County, New York.
The planned Project would also consist of the following Empire 
components:
     Construction of a 24-inch pipeline segment of 
approximately 4 miles, replacing 3.3 miles of existing 16-inch Supply 
pipeline and 0.7 miles of existing Empire pipeline in the towns of 
Wheatfield and Pendleton, Niagara County, New York;
     construction of a new, approximately 22,000 horsepower 
compressor station in the Town of Pendleton, Niagara County, New York; 
and
     construction of a new natural gas dehydration facility in 
the Town of Wheatfield, Niagara County, New York.

The general location of the planned project facilities is 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 
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

    National Fuel is still in the planning phase of the Project and 
workspace requirements have not been finalized. However, National Fuel 
is planning on using a 75-foot-wide construction right-of-way for the 
24-inch-diameter pipeline segments. Following construction, National 
Fuel would retain a 50-foot-wide easement for operation of the 
pipelines. National Fuel would also require land for additional 
workspaces at road, railroad, waterbody, and wetland crossings; topsoil 
storage; access roads; storage or pipeyards; and for other purposes 
during construction. About 92 percent of the planned pipeline route 
parallels existing power line or pipeline rights-of-way.

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 important 
environmental issues. By this

[[Page 64381]]

notice, the Commission requests public comments on the scope of issues 
to address in 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 and soils;
     water resources and wetlands;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     fisheries and aquatic resources;
     threatened, endangered, and other special-status species;
     land use, recreation, special interest areas, and visual 
resources;
     socioeconomics;
     cultural resources;
     air quality and noise;
     reliability and safety; and
     cumulative environmental 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 
participated in public open house meetings sponsored by National Fuel 
in the project area in August 2014 to explain the environmental review 
process to interested stakeholders. We have also begun to contact 
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. We will publish and distribute the EA for public 
comment. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and address your 
comments, please follow the instructions in the Public Participation 
section beginning on page 6.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to 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. Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers has expressed its intention to participate as a cooperating 
agency in the preparation of the EA to satisfy its NEPA 
responsibilities related to this Project.
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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 applicable State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPOs) 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 SHPOs 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, compressor 
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'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 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 planned facilities, 
comments made to us at National Fuel's open houses, preliminary 
consultations with other agencies, and the environmental information 
provided by National Fuel. This preliminary list of issues may be 
changed based on your comments and our analysis:
     Forested areas including fragmentation;
     agricultural areas including impacts on soils;
     property values;
     surface water;
     groundwater including wells and springs;
     wildlife and vegetation;
     federal and state-listed threatened, endangered, and 
sensitive species;
     eminent domain; and
     cumulative impacts.

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 
November 21, 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 (PF14-18-000) 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

[[Page 64382]]

all affected landowners (as defined by 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 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 a 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 National Fuel 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-
18). 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 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.
    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: October 22, 2014.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-25627 Filed 10-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P