[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 27 (Friday, February 10, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10428-10429]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-02749]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice 9880]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Supplemental Environmental 
Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Proposed Enbridge Energy, Limited 
Partnership Line 67 Expansion Project and Announcement of a Public 
Meeting

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice; solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of State (Department) announces 
availability for the public review and comment of the Draft 
Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Line 67 Expansion 
(Draft SEIS). This document analyzes the potential environmental 
effects of issuing a Presidential Permit authorizing an increase in 
flow of liquid hydrocarbons through the Line 67 pipeline border 
segment. The Draft SEIS was prepared consistent with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 
Section 4321, et seq.), the regulations of the Council on Environmental 
Quality (CEQ) (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] 1500-1508), and the 
Department's NEPA implementing regulations (22 CFR part 161).

DATES: The Department invites U.S. agencies, organizations, tribal 
governments, and members of the public to submit comments to assist the 
Department in identifying environmental and other relevant issues, any 
measures that might be adopted to reduce the proposed Project's 
environmental impacts, and other information relevant to the Draft 
SEIS. The 45-day public comment period begins with the publication of 
this Notice on February 10, 2017 and ends on March 27, 2017. Comments 
submitted electronically through www.regulations.gov as described below 
are strongly encouraged, but all comments will be given equal weight. 
The Department will consider comments received or postmarked by March 
27, 2017.
    All comments received during the public comment period may be made 
public, no matter how initially submitted. Comments are not private and 
will not be edited to remove identifying or contact information. The 
Department cautions commenters against including any information that 
they would not want publicly disclosed. The Department further requests 
that any party soliciting or aggregating comments from other persons 
direct those persons not to include any identifying or contact 
information, or information they would not want publicly disclosed, in 
their comments.
    The Department will hold a public meeting on Tuesday March 7, 2017 
at the Sanford Center, 1111 Event Center Drive NE., Bemidji, Minnesota 
from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Parties may submit comments at http://www.regulations.gov by 
entering the ``Enbridge Line 67'' into the search field and following 
the prompts. Written comments should be addressed to: Ms. Mary D. 
Hassell, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Room 2727, 
Washington, DC 20520. As described above, comments are not private. All 
comments from agencies or organizations should indicate a contact 
person for the agency or organization.

[[Page 10429]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Project details on the Enbridge 
application for a new Presidential Permit for Line 67 (including the 
amendment thereto), as well as the Draft SEIS and information on the 
Presidential Permit process, are available on the following Web site: 
http://www.state.gov/e/enr/applicant/applicants/.
    Please refer to this Web site or contact Ms. Mary D. Hassell at the 
address listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department evaluates Presidential 
Permits under Executive Order (E.O.) 13337 and 11423, as amended. E.O. 
13337 delegates to the Secretary of State the President's authority to 
receive applications for permits for the construction, operation or 
maintenance of facilities for the exportation and importation of 
petroleum, petroleum products, coal or other fuels (except natural gas) 
at the borders of the United States, and to issue or deny such 
Presidential Permits upon a national interest determination. To make 
this determination, the Department considers many factors, including 
but not limited to foreign policy; energy security; environmental, 
cultural and economic impacts; and compliance with applicable law and 
policy.
    On March 15, 2013, the Department issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) 
To Prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) and To 
Conduct Scoping and To Initiate Consultation consistent With the 
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Section 106 of the 
National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) for the Proposed Enbridge 
Energy, Limited Partnership, Line 67 Capacity Expansion Project (2013 
NOI) in the Federal Register (78 FR 16565). The 2013 NOI informed the 
public that the Department would be preparing an SEIS in support of its 
review of a November 2012 application from Enbridge Energy, Limited 
Partnership (Enbridge) for a new Presidential Permit that would, if 
granted, authorize Enbridge to operate its existing Line 67 at the 
pipeline's full design capacity. In June 2014, Enbridge informed the 
Department that Enbridge intends to increase pumping capacity outside 
of the Line 67 ``border segment'' (the portion of Line 67 from the 
Canadian border to the first mainline shut-off valve in the United 
States, which is the segment that would be covered by a Presidential 
Permit), and to interconnect Line 67 with another Enbridge pipeline 
(Line 3) on both sides of the border segment. In light of the changes 
in the project description, the Department issued an amended NOI (2014 
NOI) on August 18, 2014 (79 FR 48817) and conducted additional public 
scoping. A description of the proposed project is included in the 2014 
NOI and within Chapter 2 of the Draft SEIS.

Availability of the Draft SEIS

    Copies of the Draft SEIS have been distributed to state and 
governmental agencies, tribal governments, and other interested 
parties. Printed copies of the document may be obtained by visiting the 
libraries listed below or by contacting Mary Hassell at the above 
address. The Draft SEIS is available on the project Web site at http://www.state.gov/e/enr/applicant/applicants/.

A.C. Clark Library, Bemidji, MN
Bemidji Public Library, Bemidji, MN
Cass Lake Community Library, Cass Lake, MN
Cloquet Public Library, Cloquet, MN
Duluth Public Library, Duluth, MN
Grand Rapids Public Library, Grand Rapids, MN
Hallock Public Library, Hallock, MN
Northwest Regional Library, Thief River Falls, MN
Pembina School and Public Library, Pembina, ND
Superior Public Library, Superior, WI

Barton J. Putney,
Director, Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues, 
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2017-02749 Filed 2-9-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-09-P