[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 146 (Friday, July 29, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49971-49973]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18038]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-558-000]


PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Penneast Pipeline 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the PennEast Pipeline Project, proposed by PennEast Pipeline 
Company, LLC (PennEast) in the above-referenced docket. PennEast 
requests authorization to construct and operate a 118.8-mile-long 
pipeline to provide 1.1 million dekatherms per day (MMDth/d) of year-
round natural gas transportation service from northern Pennsylvania to 
markets in eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and surrounding states.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the PennEast Pipeline Project in 
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed 
project, with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would 
result in some adverse environmental impacts, but impacts would be 
reduced to less-than-significant levels with the implementation of 
PennEast's proposed and FERC staff recommended mitigation measures. 
This determination is based on a review of the information provided by 
PennEast and further developed from data requests; field 
investigations; scoping; literature research; alternatives analysis; 
and contacts with federal, state, and local agencies as well as Indian 
tribes and individual members of the public.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of 
Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service, and U.S. Department 
of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 
Administration 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 
proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. Although these agencies 
provided input to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the 
draft EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions and

[[Page 49972]]

recommendations in any respective record of decision or determination 
for the Project.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
     115.1 miles of new, 36-inch-diameter pipeline extending 
from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania to Mercer County, New Jersey (77 
miles in Pennsylvania and 38 miles in New Jersey);
     the 2.1-mile Hellertown Lateral consisting of 24-inch-
diameter pipe in Northampton County, Pennsylvania;
     the 0.1-mile Gilbert Lateral consisting of 12-inch-
diameter pipe in Hunterdon County, New Jersey;
     the 1.5-mile Lambertville Lateral consisting of 36-inch-
diameter pipe in Hunterdon County, New Jersey;
     new, 47,700 total hp Kidder Compressor Station in Kidder 
Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania; and
     associated aboveground facilities including eight metering 
and regulating stations for interconnections, 11 main line valve sites, 
and four pig launcher/receiver sites.
    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; and newspapers and libraries in the project area. Paper copy 
versions of this EIS (Volume I in paper copy, Volumes II and III on CD) 
were mailed to those specifically requesting them; all others received 
a CD version of the entire document. 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 
September 12, 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 project docket number 
(CP15-558-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, 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. To ensure interested parties have ample opportunity to attend a 
public comment meeting six meetings are scheduled as follows:

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                              Date and time                                               Location
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, August 15, 2016 6-10 p.m.........................................  Best Western Lehigh Valley &
                                                                            Conference Center, 300 Gateway
                                                                            Drive, Bethlehem, PA 18017, Phone:
                                                                            610-866-5800.
Monday, August 15, 2016 6-10 p.m.........................................  Penn's Peak, 325 Maury Road, Jim
                                                                            Thorpe, PA 18229, Phone: 610-826-
                                                                            9000.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016 6-10 p.m........................................  Grand Colonial, 86 Route 173 West,
                                                                            Hampton, NJ 08827, Phone: 908-735-
                                                                            7889.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016 6-10 p.m........................................  Peddler's Village, (Lahaska and
                                                                            Neshaminy Rooms), Routes 202 & 263,
                                                                            Lahaska, PA 19831, Phone: 215-794-
                                                                            4000.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016 6-10 p.m......................................  Best Western Genetti Hotel &
                                                                            Conference Center, 77 E Market
                                                                            Street, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701,
                                                                            Phone: 570-823-6152.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016 6-10 p.m......................................  Clifford B. Memorial Hall, 1666
                                                                            Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08618,
                                                                            Phone: 609-882-3221.
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    The meetings will be scheduled from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. There 
will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff. The primary goal 
will be to have your verbal environmental comments on the draft EIS 
documented in the public record. Verbal comments will be recorded by 
stenographers in one-on-one settings, and transcriptions will be placed 
into the docket for the project and made available for public viewing 
on FERC's eLibrary system (see below for instructions on using 
eLibrary). If a significant number of people are interested in 
providing verbal comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 3 
to 5 minutes may be implemented for each commenter. It is important to 
note that verbal comments hold the same weight as written or 
electronically submitted comments. Although there will not be a formal 
presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the 
meetings to answer your questions about the environmental review 
process.
    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).\1\ 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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    \1\ 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

[[Page 49973]]

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-
558-000). 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: July 22, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-18038 Filed 7-28-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P