[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24806-24807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09824]



[[Page 24806]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Leach XPress Project and Rayne XPress 
Expansion Project

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Docket No.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC........................      CP15-514-000
Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC.......................      CP15-539-000
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Leach XPress and Rayne XPress Expansion Projects (Projects), 
proposed by Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia Gas) and Columbia 
Gulf Transmission, LLC (Columbia Gulf), respectively, in the above-
referenced dockets. Columbia Gas requests authorization to construct, 
operate, abandon in-place, replace, and operate certain natural gas 
pipeline facilities to transport about 1.5 million dekatherms of 
natural gas per day of firm transportation service to natural gas 
consumers served by the Columbia Gas pipeline systems. Columbia Gulf 
requests authorization to add new compression and provide about 621,000 
dekatherms per day of firm transportation on Columbia Gulf's system.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Projects in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC 
staff concludes that approval of the Projects would result in limited 
adverse environmental impacts, with the exception of impacts on 
forested land; however, these impacts would be reduced to less than 
significant levels with the implementation of Columbia Gas' and 
Columbia Gulf's proposed mitigation and the additional measures 
recommended by staff in the draft EIS.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Pennsylvania Department 
of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Department of 
Conservation and Natural Resources, the Ohio Environmental Protection 
Agency, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, the 
West Virginia Department of Natural Resources, and the Kentucky 
Department for Environmental Protection participated as cooperating 
agencies in the preparation of the EIS. Cooperating agencies have 
jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to resources 
potentially affected by the proposals and participate in the NEPA 
analysis. Although the cooperating agencies provided input to the 
conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the 
agencies will present their own conclusions and recommendations in 
their respective Records of Decision for the Projects.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following facilities:
     133 miles of new 30- and 36-inch-diameter natural gas 
pipeline, 27 miles of 36-inch-diameter looping pipeline \1\ in 
Pennsylvania (Greene County), Ohio (Fairfield, Hocking, Monroe, Morgan, 
Muskingum, Noble, Perry and Vinton Counties) and West Virginia 
(Marshall County), 28 miles of 20-inch-diameter pipeline to be 
abandoned in place in Ohio (Fairfield, Hocking, and Vinton Counties), 
three new compressor stations, three existing compressor station 
modifications, four new and one modified regulator stations, 13 pig 
launcher and receiver facilities,\2\ nine mainline valves, and four 
odorization facilities proposed by Columbia Gas; and
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    \1\ A pipeline loop is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to 
an existing pipeline to increase capacity.
    \2\ A pig is an internal tool that can be used to clean and dry 
a pipeline and/or to inspect it for damage or corrosion.
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     the new Grayson Compressor Station in Carter County, 
Kentucky, the new Means Compressor Station in Menifee and Montgomery 
Counties, Kentucky, and modification of the existing Means Measurement 
and Regulation Station in Montgomery County, Kentucky proposed by 
Columbia Gulf.
    The FERC staff mailed copies of the draft EIS to federal, state, 
and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; 
potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and 
groups; newspapers and libraries in the project area; and parties to 
this proceeding. Paper copy versions of this EIS were mailed to those 
specifically requesting them; all others received a CD version. In 
addition, the draft EIS is available for public viewing on the FERC's 
Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. A limited number of 
copies are available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street 
NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensure 
consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is 
important that the Commission receive your comments on or before June 
13, 2016.
    For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided verbally. 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 applicable project 
docket number (CP15-514-000 or CP15-539-000) with your submission: 
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., Deputy Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
    (4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the 
Commission invites you to attend one of the public comment meetings its 
staff will conduct in the project area to receive comments on the draft 
EIS, scheduled as follows:

[[Page 24807]]



------------------------------------------------------------------------
               Date                               Location
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Wednesday, May 18, 2016...........  Noble County Community Center, Noble
                                     County Fairgrounds, (Fairground
                                     Road), Caldwell, OH 43724, 740-509-
                                     8077.
Thursday, May 19, 2016............  Grand Vue Park (Banquet Hall), 250
                                     Trail Drive, Moundsville, WV 26041,
                                     304-845-9810.
Tuesday, May 24, 2016.............  Lee's Banquet Haus, 580 Radio Lane,
                                     Logan, OH 43138, 740-603-7639.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016...........  Oak Hill Elementary School, 401 East
                                     Evans Street, Oak Hill, OH 45656,
                                     740-682-7096.
Thursday, May 26, 2016............  Huntington High School, 1 Highlander
                                     Way, Huntington, WV 25701, 304-528-
                                     6400.
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    We will begin our sign up of speakers at 5:30 p.m. The comments 
meetings will begin at 6:00 p.m. with a description of our 
environmental review process by Commission staff, after which speakers 
will be called. The meetings will end once all speakers have provided 
their comments or at 10:00 p.m., whichever comes first. The meetings 
will be recorded by a court reporter to ensure comments are accurately 
recorded. Transcripts will be entered into the formal record of the 
Commission proceeding.
    Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a 
motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedures (18 CFR Part 385.214).\3\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision. The 
Commission grants affected landowners and others with environmental 
concerns intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they 
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which no other 
party can adequately represent. Simply filing environmental comments 
will not give you intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor 
status to have your comments considered.
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    \3\ See the previous discussion on the methods for filing 
comments.
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Questions?

    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., CP15-
514 or CP15-539). 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; 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 that 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.

    Dated: April 21, 2016.
 Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-09824 Filed 4-26-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P