[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 149 (Tuesday, August 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46261-46263]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19069]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF15-24-000]


WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Planned Demicks Lake Pipeline 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 Demicks Lake Pipeline Project 
(Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by WBI 
Energy Transmission, Inc (WBI Energy) in McKenzie County, North Dakota. 
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. 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. 
Your input will help the Commission staff determine what issues they 
need to evaluate in the EA. 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 August 27, 2015.
    If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the 
opening of this docket on May 13, 2015, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. PF15-24-000 to ensure they are considered as 
part of this proceeding.
    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

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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.

Public Participation

    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic 
filing of comments and has expert staff available to assist you at 
(202) 502-8258 or [email protected]. Please carefully follow these 
instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.
    (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 submitting brief, 
text-only comments on a project;
    (2) You can file your comments electronically by 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.'' If you are filing a comment on a particular project, 
please select ``Comment on a Filing'' as the filing type; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the following address. Be sure to reference the project docket number 
(PF15-24-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426.

Summary of the Planned Project

    WBI Energy plans to construct and operate 22.7 miles of 24-inch-
diameter natural gas pipeline and appurtenant facilities between a 
proposed non-jurisdictional gas plant, ONEOK Rockies Midstream LLC's 
(ONEOK) Demicks Lake Plant, located west of Keene, North Dakota and a 
tie-in along Northern Border Pipeline Company's (Northern Border) 
existing mainline located approximately 8 miles southeast of Watford 
City, North Dakota. The Project would provide approximately 221,500 
Mmcf/d (million standard cubic feet per day) of natural gas 
transportation capacity to Northern Border's mainline, which would 
transport the gas to the midcontinent region of the United States. The 
maximum allowable operating pressure of the new pipeline would be 1,650 
pounds per square inch gauge.
    The Demicks Lake Pipeline Project would consist of the following 
facilities:
     22.7 miles of 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;
     a meter station located at milepost (MP) 22.7 at the site 
of ONEOK's Demicks Lake Plant;
     two pig launcher/receivers at MP 0.0 and MP 22.7; and
     one mid-point block valve located at approximately MP 
10.7.
    WBI Energy also proposes to construct a 3,300-foot-long, 16- to 24-
inch-diameter tie across pipeline between the proposed 24-inch-diameter 
Demicks Lake pipeline and WBI Energy's existing 16-inch-diameter Garden 
Creek II pipeline just south of Highway 23. The tie across pipeline 
facilities would consist of a block valve on both of the Demicks Lake 
pipeline and the Garden Creek II pipeline, a pig launcher at both ends 
of the tie across pipeline, and a metering facility at one end of the 
tie across pipeline.\1\
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    \1\ The decision to construct the tie across pipeline and 
associated facilities is still under review by WBI Energy and is not 
shown on Project maps.
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    The general location of the Project facilities 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 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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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the planned facilities would disturb about 266 
acres of land for the pipeline and aboveground facilities. Following 
construction, WBI Energy would maintain about 133 acres of land for 
permanent operation of the Project's facilities; the remaining land 
would be restored and revert to former uses. About 67 percent of the 
planned pipeline route parallels existing pipeline, utility, or road 
rights-of-way.

Non-Jurisdictional Facilities

    Construction of ONEOK's proposed Demicks Lake Plant is not subject 
to FERC jurisdiction. However, in the EA, we will provide available 
descriptions of the non-jurisdictional facilities and include them 
under our analysis of cumulative impacts. The plant would be located 
west of Keene, North Dakota. As proposed, the plant would be 
constructed on a plot of approximately 160 acres located in the NE \1/
4\ of Section 20, Township 151 North, Range 96 West in McKenzie County. 
Construction of the plant would include the installation of underground 
piping, above ground piping, and above ground gas processing 
facilities.

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/EIS 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;
     land use;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     cultural resources;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     air quality and noise;
     endangered and threatened species;
     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

[[Page 46263]]

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. Directions for 
use of eLibrary are provided on page 6 under Additional Information. 
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 2.
    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.\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), 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 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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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.
    Copies of the 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 WBI Energy 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., PF15-
24). 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 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: July 28, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-19069 Filed 8-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01P