[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23530-23532]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09746]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-88-000]


Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Abandonment and Capacity 
Restoration Project 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 Abandonment and Capacity 
Restoration Project (Project) involving abandonment of facilities by 
Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (Tennessee). 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 May 18, 2015. You may submit comments 
in written form. 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.
    Tennessee 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

    Tennessee proposes to abandon in place and remove from service 
approximately 964 miles of Tennessee's existing pipelines that run from 
Natchitoches Parish, LA, to Columbiana County, Ohio. Tennessee 
currently operates six parallel pipelines that transport natural gas 
from the Gulf of Mexico region to the Northeast markets. The proposed 
Project would occur on Tennessee's existing 100 and 200 Lines. In order 
to replace capacity that would be lost due to the abandonment, 
Tennessee would modify and construct certain facilities along the 
existing pipelines not proposed for abandonment.
    Tennessee would abandon in place the following facilities:
     677 miles of Tennessee's 24-inch-diameter 100-1 Line from 
Compressor Station 40 in Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, to Compressor 
Station 106 in Powel County, Kentucky;
     77 miles of Tennessee's 26-inch-diameter 100-3 Line from 
Compressor Station 106 to Compressor Station 200 in Greenup County, 
Kentucky; and
     210 miles of Tennessee's 26-inch-diameter 200-3 Line from 
Compressor Station 200 to MLV 216 in Columbiana County, Ohio, including 
disconnection of the 200-3 Line from an aerial crossing at either side 
of the Ohio River headers.
    Tennessee would construct and install the following facilities:
     An additional 10,771 horsepower (hp) compressor unit at 
Compressor Station 875, to be constructed by Tennessee as part of the 
Broad Run Expansion Project (FERC Docket CP15-77-000) in Madison 
County, Kentucky;
     Two compressor units at Tennessee's existing Compressor 
Station 110 in Rowan County, Kentucky, adding 32,000 hp;
     Four new mid-point compressor stations, (Compressor 
Stations 202.5, 206.5, 211.5, and 216.5), on lines 200-1, 200-2, and 
200-4, adding a total of 82,000 hp in Jackson, Morgan, Tuscarawas, and 
Mahoning counties, Ohio;
     A 7.6-mile-long new pipeline loop\1\ in Carter and Lewis 
Counties, Kentucky to continue Tennessee's Line 100-7; and
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    \1\ A pipeline loop is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to 
an existing pipeline to increase capacity.
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     Removal of certain crossovers, taps, valves and 
miscellaneous pipe, and the relocation and/or installation of new taps 
to complete the physical separation of the Abandoned Line from 
Tennessee's retained pipelines.

Land Requirements

    Project activities, including abandonment, construction and 
modification of existing facilities, would disturb about 463 acres of 
land. Following abandonment and construction activities, Tennessee 
would maintain about 256.4 acres for permanent operation of the 
project's facilities; the remaining acreage would be restored and 
revert to former uses. About 105.3 acres of land would be disturbed by 
the construction of new compressor stations in Jackson, Morgan, 
Tuscarawas, and Mahoning counties, Ohio (60.3 acres would be 
permanently maintained for operation). Construction of the 7.6-mile-
long new pipeline would disturb about 163 acres of land in Carter and 
Lewis Counties, Kentucky (46.3 acres would be permanently maintained 
for operation). Land disturbed by modifications to existing compressor 
stations and removal, relocation and/or installation of crossovers, 
taps, valves and miscellaneous pipe on Tennessee's existing pipeline 
would be mostly within Tennessee's existing right-of-way. The general 
location of the Project is shown in appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ 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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Future Use of the Abandoned Pipeline Facilities

    Following the abandonment of Tennessee's pipeline facilities, if 
the Commission approves the Project,

[[Page 23531]]

Tennessee indicates that it would complete necessary work to disconnect 
and transfer the Abandoned Line and associated facilities to Utica 
Marcellus Texas Pipeline, LLC (UMTP) who would convert the Abandoned 
Line to natural gas liquids (NGL) products transportation service (UMTP 
Project). These activities involving future use of the Abandoned Line 
are not under the FERC's jurisdiction, and therefore, are not subject 
to the FERC's review procedures. In the EA, we will provide available 
descriptions of the future use and non-jurisdictional activities, 
including the UMTP Project, and discuss them in our analysis of 
cumulative impacts.

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. We will 
consider all filed comments 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.
    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 we have the opportunity to consider and 
address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the 
Public Participation section on page 5.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law 
and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues of 
this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA 
\4\. 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.
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    \4\ 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 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.\5\ We will define the project-specific 
Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO(s) 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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    \5\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 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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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 May 
18, 2015.
    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 (CP15-88-000) 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 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 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 abandonment 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.

[[Page 23532]]

    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 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 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., CP15-
88). 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/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: April 17, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-09746 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P