[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43596-43597]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-15796]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission


Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review of the Mountain 
Valley Pipeine Project and the Equitrans Expansion Project

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                                                    Docket No.
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Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC...........  CP16-10-000
Equitrans LP...........................  CP16-13-000
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    On October 23, 2015, Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (Mountain Valley) 
filed its application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(FERC or Commission) in Docket No. CP16-10-000, requesting a 
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity pursuant to Section 
7(c) of the Natural Gas Act to construct, operate, and maintain certain 
natural gas pipeline facilities. Equitrans LP (Equitrans) filed a 
companion application on October 27, 2015 in Docket No. CP16-13-000. 
The proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline Project, in West Virginia and 
Virginia, would transport about 2 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of 
natural gas from production areas in the Appalachian Basin to markets 
on the East Coast. The proposed Equitrans Expansion Project, in 
Pennsylvania and West Virginia, would transport about 0.4 Bcf/d of 
natural gas and interconnect with the Mountain Valley Pipeline. Because 
these are interrelated projects, the FERC staff deemed it was 
appropriate to analyze them in a single environmental impact statement 
(EIS).
    On November 5, 2015, the FERC issued its Notice of Application for 
the projects. Among other things, that notice alerted other agencies 
issuing federal authorizations of the requirement to complete all 
necessary reviews and to reach a final decision on the request for a 
federal authorization within 90 days of the date of issuance of the 
Commission staff's final EIS for the projects. This instant notice 
identifies the FERC staff's planned schedule for completion of the 
final EIS for the projects, which is based on an issuance of the draft 
EIS in September 2016.

Schedule for Environmental Review

Issuance of Notice of Availability of the final EIS, March 10, 2017
90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline, June 8, 2017

    If a schedule change becomes necessary for the final EIS, an 
additional notice will be provided so that the relevant agencies are 
kept informed of the projects' progress.

Project Description

    The Mountain Valley Pipeline Project would consist of about 301 
miles of new 42-inch-diameter pipeline, beginning at the Mobley 
Interconnect and receipt meter station in Wetzel County, West Virginia, 
and terminating at the Transco Interconnect and delivery meter station 
at the existing Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company Compressor 
Station 165 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia. In addition, Mountain 
Valley intends to construct and operate three new compressor stations 
and other aboveground facilities.
    The Equitrans Expansion Project would consist of a total of about 8 
miles of various diameter pipelines in six segments. These segments 
include the parallel 12-inch-diameter H-158 pipeline and 6-inch-
diameter M-80 pipeline extending about 0.2-mile each in Greene County, 
Pennsylvania; the 24-inch-diameter H-305 pipeline that would extend 
about 540 feet in Greene County; the 3-mile-long new 30-inch-diameter 
H-316 pipeline in Greene County; the 4.2-mile-long new 20-inch-diameter 
H-318 pipeline in Allegheny and Washington Counties, Pennsylvania; and 
the new H-319 pipeline that would extend about 200 feet in Wetzel 
County, West Virginia. Equitrans also proposes to abandon its existing 
Pratt Compressor Station and replace it with the new Redhook Compressor 
Station in Greene County, Pennsylvania; and to construct and operate 
taps in Greene County and Washington County, Pennsylvania, and an 
interconnect and two taps in Wetzel County, West Virginia,

Background

    On October 31, 2014 and April 9, 2015, the Commission staff granted 
Mountain Valley's and Equitrans' requests to use the FERC's pre-filing 
environmental review process and assigned the Mountain Valley Pipeline 
Project temporary Docket No. PF15-3-000 and the Equitrans Expansion 
Project temporary Docket No. PF15-22-000. The FERC issued a Notice of 
Intent to Prepare and Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned 
Mountain Valley Pipeline Project, Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings (NOI) on April 17, 2015. 
An NOI for the Equitrans Expansion Project was issued on August 11, 
2015, with a scoping period for that project that ended on September 
14, 2015.
    The NOIs were issued during the pre-filing review of the projects, 
and were

[[Page 43597]]

sent to our environmental mailing list that included federal, state, 
and local government agencies; elected officials; affected landowners; 
regional environmental groups and non-governmental organizations; 
Native Americans and Indian tribes; local libraries and newspapers; and 
other interested parties. The Mountain Valley Pipeline Project NOI 
announced the date, time, and location of six public meetings sponsored 
by the FERC in the project area, and a scoping period that ran to June 
16, 2015 to take comments on the project. Some of the major issues 
raised during scoping included potential impacts on karst terrain and 
caves; impacts on groundwater and springs, drinking water supplies, and 
surface waterbodies; impacts on forest; impacts on property values and 
the use of eminent domain; impacts on tourism; impacts on public 
recreational areas such as the Jefferson National Forest, Appalachian 
National Scenic Trail, and the Blue Ridge Parkway; impacts on historic 
districts; and pipeline safety.
    The United States (U.S.) Department of Agriculture Forest Service, 
Jefferson National Forest; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington and 
Norfolk Districts; U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land 
Management; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 3; Pipeline 
and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration within the U.S. 
Department of Transportation; West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection; and West Virginia Division of Natural Resources are 
cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS.

Additional Information

    In order to receive notification of the issuance of the EIS and to 
keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets, 
the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription (http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp). Additional data about the 
projects can be obtained electronically through the Commission's 
Internet Web site (www.ferc.gov). Under ``Dockets & Filings,'' use the 
``eLibrary'' link, select ``General Search'' from the menu, enter the 
docket numbers excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP16-10 or CP16-
13), and the search dates. Questions about the projects can be directed 
to the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (866) 208-FERC.

    Dated: June 28, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-15796 Filed 7-1-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P