[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 154 (Tuesday, August 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48093-48095]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-19695]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF15-6-000]


Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC; Supplemental Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned Atlantic 
Coast Pipeline Project, and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues Related to New Alternatives Under Consideration

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) is 
issuing this supplemental notice (Notice) to provide landowners 
potentially affected by additional pipeline route alternatives an 
opportunity to comment on impacts associated with these newly 
identified routes. The FERC is the lead federal agency responsible for 
conducting the environmental review of the ACP Project. The 
Commission's staff will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) 
that discusses the environmental impacts of the ACP Project. This EIS 
will be used in part by the Commission to determine whether the ACP 
Project is in the public convenience and necessity.
    You have been identified as a landowner that may be affected by new 
alternatives being considered. Information in this Notice is provided 
to familiarize you with these new alternatives, the ACP Project as a 
whole, and the Commission's environmental review process, and instruct 
you on how to submit comments about the ACP Project and the 
alternatives under consideration. This Notice is also being sent to 
federal, state, and local government agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; other 
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers in the vicinity 
of these alternatives. We encourage elected officials and government 
representatives to notify their constituents about the ACP Project and 
inform them on how they can comment on their areas of concern. Please 
note that comments on this Notice should be filed with the Commission 
by September 4, 2015.
    If your property would be affected by one of the alternatives under 
consideration, you should have already been contacted by an Atlantic 
representative. An Atlantic representative may have also contacted you 
or may contact you in the near future about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the planned facilities or 
request permission to perform environmental surveys on your property. 
Some landowners may not be contacted if the alternative across their 
property is found to be either not feasible or not environmentally 
preferable to other alternatives being considered. If the Commission 
approves the ACP 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.
    To help potentially affected landowners better understand the 
Commission and its environmental review process, the ``For Citizens'' 
section of the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov) provides information about 
getting involved in FERC jurisdictional projects, and a citizens' guide 
entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I 
Need to Know?'' This guide addresses a number of frequently asked 
questions, including the use of eminent domain and how to participate 
in the Commission's proceedings.

Project Summary and Background

    The ACP Project would involve the construction and operation of 556 
miles of variable diameter natural gas pipeline in West Virginia, 
Virginia, and North Carolina. The pipeline facilities associated with 
the ACP Project would be comprised of four main components as follows:
     Approximately 292.8 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Harrison, Lewis, Upshur, Randolph, and Pocahontas Counties, West 
Virginia; Highland, Augusta, Nelson, Buckingham, Cumberland, Prince 
Edward, Nottoway, Dinwiddie, Brunswick, and Greensville Counties, 
Virginia; and Northampton County, North Carolina;
     approximately 181.5 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Northampton, Halifax, Nash, Wilson, Johnston, Sampson, Cumberland, and 
Robeson Counties, North Carolina;
     approximately 77.6 miles of 20-inch-diameter lateral 
pipeline in Northampton County, North Carolina; Greensville and 
Southampton, Counties, Virginia; and the Cities of Suffolk and 
Chesapeake, Virginia;
     approximately 3.1 miles of 16-inch-diameter natural gas 
lateral pipeline in Brunswick County, Virginia; and
     approximately 1.0 mile of 16-inch-diameter natural gas 
lateral pipeline in Greenville County, Virginia.
    In addition to the planned pipelines, Atlantic plans to construct 
and operate three new compressor stations totaling 117,405 horsepower 
of compression. These compressor stations would be located in Lewis 
County, West Virginia; Buckingham County, Virginia; and Northampton 
County, North Carolina. Atlantic would also install metering stations, 
valves, pig launcher/receiver sites,\1\ and associated appurtenances 
along the planned pipeline system.
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    \1\ A ``pig'' is a tool that the pipeline company inserts into 
and pushes through the pipeline for cleaning the pipeline, 
conducting internal inspections, or other purposes.
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    Dominion Transmission, Inc. (Dominion) is planning to construct the

[[Page 48094]]

Supply Header Project (SHP), which we will review concurrently with the 
ACP Project. The SHP would involve the construction and operation of 
approximately 36.7 miles of pipeline loop \2\ and the modification of 
existing compression facilities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The 
pipeline facilities associated with the SHP would be comprised of two 
main components: (1) Approximately 3.9 miles of 30-inch-diameter 
natural gas pipeline loop adjacent to Dominion's existing LN-25 
pipeline in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania; and (2) approximately 
32.8 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline loop adjacent to Dominion's 
existing TL-360 pipeline in Harrison, Doddridge, Tyler, and Wetzel 
Counties, West Virginia.
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    \2\ A pipeline ``loop'' is a segment of pipe constructed 
parallel to an existing pipeline to increase capacity.
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    In addition to the planned pipelines, Dominion plans to modify four 
existing compressor stations in Westmoreland and Green Counties, 
Pennsylvania and Marshall and Wetzel Counties, West Virginia. Dominion 
would install new gas-fired turbines that would provide for a combined 
increase of 77,230 horsepower of compression. Dominion would also 
install new valves, pig launcher/receiver sites, and associated 
appurtenances at these existing compressor station locations.
    The SHP and ACP Projects would be capable of delivering 1.5 billion 
cubic feet of natural gas per day to eight planned distribution points 
in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. If approved, 
construction of the projects is proposed to begin in September 2016.
    On November 13, 2014 the Commission's environmental staff approved 
Atlantic's and Dominion's request to use the Commission Pre-filing 
Process for the SHP and ACP Project. The purpose of the Pre-filing 
Process is to encourage the early involvement of interested 
stakeholders to identify and resolve project-related issues before an 
application is filed with the Commission. On February 27, 2015 the 
Commission issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Planned Supply Header Project and Atlantic Coast 
Pipeline Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and 
Notice of Public Scoping Meetings.
    During the course of the Pre-filing Process, numerous concerns have 
been expressed about the potential environmental impacts of the project 
and the need to collocate the planned facilities with existing rights-
of-way. Based on the merits of these comments, and to ensure that 
potential environmental impacts are minimized to the extent practical 
and that public concerns are fully addressed during the Pre-filing 
Process, additional alternatives have been identified and are being 
considered.

Project Alternatives

    The following new alternatives are now being analyzed. 
Illustrations of these alternatives are provided in Appendix 1.\3\ 
Detailed alternative route location information can be found on 
Dominion's interactive web mapping application at https://www.dom.com/corporate/what-we-do/atlantic-coast-pipeline.
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    \3\ 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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Brunswick Route Alternative (Brunswick and Greensville Counties, 
Virginia)

    The Brunswick Route Alternative would deviate from Atlantic's 
planned route near AP-1 milepost (MP) 259 and extend south and for 
approximately 20.9 miles before rejoining the planned route near AP-1 
MP 277. The majority of the Brunswick Route Alternative would follow a 
recently constructed electric transmission line. The Brunswick Route 
Alternative would reduce the length of the planned AP-3 lateral 
pipeline.

Boykins Route Alternative (Southampton County, Virginia)

    The Boykins Route Alternative would deviate from Atlantic's planned 
route near AP-3 MP 14.5 and extend for approximately 13 miles in a 
northeast direction before rejoining the planned AP-3 route at 
approximate AP-3 MP 28. The majority of the Boykins Route Alternative 
would follow an existing 115 kilovolt electric transmission line.

Franklin Route Alternative (Southampton and Isle of Wright Counties and 
the Cities of Franklin and Suffolk, Virginia)

    The Franklin Route Alternative would deviate from Atlantic's 
planned route near AP-3 MP 41 and extend for approximately 12.5 miles 
in a easterly direction before rejoining the planned AP-3 route at 
approximate AP-3 MP 53. The majority of the Franklin Route Alternative 
would follow an existing 115 kilovolt electric transmission line.

The EIS 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 
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 EIS on the important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the planned ACP Project and the three alternatives 
identified above. We will consider all filed comments that are 
suggested during the preparation of the EIS.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in a draft 
EIS that will be placed in the public record, published, and 
distributed to the public for comments. We will also hold public 
comment meetings in the project area and will address comments on the 
draft EIS in a final EIS. The final EIS will also be placed in the 
public record, published, and distributed to the public. To ensure your 
comments are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in 
the Public Participation section on the following page.

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, and to solicit 
their views and those of other government agencies, interested Indian 
tribes, and the public on the projects' potential effects on historic 
properties.\4\ We will define the project-specific Area of Potential 
Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs as the projects develop. 
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 EIS for these projects will document our findings on 
the impacts on historic properties and

[[Page 48095]]

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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Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the alternatives presented above and about 
the projects in general. 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 considered 
in a timely manner and properly recorded, please send your comments so 
that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before 
September 4, 2015.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the 
appropriate project docket number (PF15-6-000 for the ACP Project) 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, as well as anyone who 
submits comments on the projects. 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 projects.
    Copies of the completed draft EIS 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 Atlantic files an 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 formal applications for the projects.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the ACP 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 (i.e., PF15-6). 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/esubscribenow.htm.
    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, 2015.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-19695 Filed 8-10-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P