[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 98 (Friday, May 20, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31922-31924]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-11908]


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 DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF16-3-000]


Millennium Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Planned Eastern System Upgrade 
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 Eastern System Upgrade Project 
(ESU Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by 
Millennium Pipeline Company, LLC (Millennium) in Sullivan, Delaware, 
Orange, and Rockland Counties, New York. The Commission will use this 
EA in its decision-making process to determine whether the ESU 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 ESU Project. You can make a difference by providing us 
with your specific comments or concerns about the ESU 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 June 10, 2016.
    If you sent comments on the ESU Project to the Commission before 
the opening of this docket on January 19, 2016, you will need to file 
those comments in Docket No. PF16-3-000 to ensure they are considered 
as part of this proceeding.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for the ESU 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 
construct, operate, and maintain the planned facilities. The company 
would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. However, if 
the Commission approves the ESU 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 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

[[Page 31923]]

[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 ESU Project docket 
number (PF16-3-000) 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

    Millennium plans to construct and operate about 7.8 miles of 30- 
and 36-inch-diameter pipeline loop \1\ in Orange County, New York. The 
planned pipeline loop would transport natural gas from Millennium's 
existing Corning Compressor Station to an existing interconnect with 
Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC in Ramapo, New York. Millennium would 
also construct a new compressor station in Sullivan County, New York; 
install additional compression at the Hancock Compressor Station in 
Delaware County, New York; and modify the Westtown Meter Station in 
Orange County, New York and the Ramapo Meter Station in Rockland 
County, New York. According to Millennium, the ESU Project would be 
designed to transport approximately 200,000 dekatherms per day of 
additional natural gas service. The general location of the ESU Project 
facilities is shown in appendix 1.\2\
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    \1\ A pipeline loop is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to 
an existing pipeline to increase capacity.
    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all of 
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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    The ESU Project would consist of the following facilities in New 
York:
     Approximately 7.8 miles of new 30- and 36-inch-diameter 
pipeline loop to be located generally adjacent to Millennium's existing 
mainline in Orange County;
     a new 22,400-horsepower compressor station in Sullivan 
County;
     an additional 22,400 horsepower of compression at the 
existing Hancock Compressor Station in Delaware County;
     modifications at the existing Ramapo Meter Station in 
Rockland County;
     modifications at the existing Huguenot and Westtown Meter 
Stations in Orange County; and
     construction of an interconnect to Millennium's proposed 
Valley Lateral Pipeline.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the planned facilities would disturb about 199.6 
acres of land for the aboveground facilities and the pipeline loop. 
Millennium would maintain about 51.0 acres for permanent operation of 
the ESU Project's facilities following construction; the remaining 
acreage would be restored and revert to former uses. Most of the 
pipeline loop would be located within Millennium's existing easements, 
offset about 25 feet from Millennium's existing pipeline.

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 be addressed 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 planned project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     land use;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     cultural resources;
     vegetation and wildlife, including migratory birds;
     air quality and noise;
     endangered and threatened species;
     public safety; and
     cumulative impacts.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned ESU 
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 
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 and 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. 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 New York State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to 
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested 
Indian tribes, and the public on the ESU Project's potential effects on

[[Page 31924]]

historic properties.\5\ We will define the project-specific Area of 
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the ESU 
Project develops. For 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 ESU 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 (see appendix 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once Millennium 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 ESU Project.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the ESU 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., PF16-
3). 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.

Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-11908 Filed 5-19-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P