[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 151 (Friday, August 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51874-51876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-18580]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF14-21-000]


Alaska Gasline Development Corporation, BP Alaska LNG LLC, Conoco 
Phillips Alaska LNG Company, ExxonMobil Alaska LNG LLC; Supplemental 
Notice Requesting Comments on the Denali National Park and Preserve 
Alterative for the Planned Alaska LNG Project

    As previously noticed on March 4, 2015, the staff of the Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) is preparing an 
environmental impact statement (EIS) that will discuss the 
environmental impacts of the Alaska LNG Project that could result from 
construction and operation of facilities by Alaska Gasline Development 
Corporation; BP Alaska LNG LLC; Conoco Phillips Alaska LNG Company; and 
ExxonMobil Alaska LNG LLC (Applicants) in Alaska. This notice explains 
the additional scoping process that will be used to gather input from 
the public and interested agencies on a route alternative to be 
evaluated for crossing the Denali National Park and Preserve (DNPP).
    The route currently planned by Alaska LNG is closely aligned with 
the Parks Highway, but deviates from the highway where the Parks 
Highway passes through the DNPP entrance area (see figure in appendix 
1.\1\) In response to scoping comments, and in working with federal and 
state regulating agencies, as well as the local communities, Alaska LNG 
has identified an alternative route (the DNPP Alternative) that passes 
directly through the DNPP entrance area and is closely aligned with the 
Parks Highway (see figure in appendix 1). In this general area, the 
planned route would be 8.05 miles long and not enter the DNPP, while 
the corresponding segment of the DNPP Alternative would be 8.50 miles 
long (6.16 miles of which would pass through the DNPP).
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    \1\ 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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    This Supplemental Notice announces the opening of a limited scoping 
period to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the 
DNPP Alternative route. You can make a difference by providing us with 
your specific comments or concerns about the DNPP Alternative route. 
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 EIS. 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 September 25, 
2016.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. State and local government 
representatives should

[[Page 51875]]

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 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. In all instances, please reference the 
project docket number (PF14-21-000) 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]. 
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 
(PF14-21-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    In addition, if you have questions regarding the FERC process and 
our review of the alternative, FERC staff will be available to answer 
questions on Tuesday, August 23, 2016, between 4:00 and 6:00 p.m. at 
the Murie Dining Hall within Denali National Park (next to the Murie 
Science and Learning Center),
    Please note this is not your only public input opportunity; please 
refer to the review process flow chart in appendix 2.

Summary of the Planned Project

    The Applicants are planning to transport and liquefy supplies of 
natural gas from the production fields at the Point Thomson and Prudhoe 
Bay Units (PTU and PBU, respectively) on Alaska's North Slope for 
export and potential in-state deliveries. To do this, the Alaska LNG 
Project would consist of a new Gas Treatment Plant (GTP) on the North 
Slope and associated pipelines to deliver the gas from the PTU and PBU 
to the GTP, as well as a pipeline to deliver natural gas processing 
byproducts from the GTP back to the PBU. The GTP would treat/process 
the natural gas for delivery to an approximately 800-mile-long, 42-
inch-diameter pipeline that would transport the natural gas to a new 
planned liquefaction facility on the eastern shore of Cook Inlet in the 
Nikiski area of the Kenai Peninsula. Alaska LNG anticipates starting 
construction in late 2019, with construction and startup taking 
approximately 8 years. On this basis, the full planned Project system 
would be placed into service about 2027.
    As previously described, the alternative we are scoping involves an 
alternative route directly through the DNPP entrance area and closely 
aligned with the Parks Highway (see figure in appendix 1). We are 
requesting input from stakeholders on both the DNPP Alternative route 
and the current route that is located outside the park.

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 
\2\ 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 scope of the issues to address in the EIS. We will 
consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EIS.
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    \2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EIS we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the planned project under these 
general headings:
     Alternatives
     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species;
     Transportation;
     Socioeconomics;
     Public safety; and
     Cumulative impacts.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the planned 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 already met with the Applicants, jurisdictional agencies, Alaska 
Native tribes, local officials, and other interested stakeholders to 
discuss the project and identify issues/impacts and concerns before the 
FERC receives an application.
    In October and November 2016, FERC conducted a total of 12 scoping 
meetings throughout Alaska. During the scoping meetings, we garnered 
feedback from the local communities, including residents, elected 
officials, tribal leaders, community leaders, and other interested 
stakeholders.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the 
EIS. The draft EIS will be published and distributed for public review 
and comment. We will consider all timely comments and revise the 
document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. To ensure your 
comments are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in 
the Public Participation section of this notice.

[[Page 51876]]

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 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 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 3).

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once the Applicants file their 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 ``efiling'' 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 project.

Additional Information

    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., PF14-
21). 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.
    Further, 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. Finally, 
additional information about the project can be seen from the 
Applicant's Web site at http://ak-lng.com.

    Dated: July 27, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-18580 Filed 8-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P