[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 28, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15354-15356]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06068]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. PF17-3-000]
Midship Pipeline Company, LLC; Supplemental Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Planned Midcontinent
Supply Header Interstate Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on
Environmental Issues Related to New Pipeline Lateral and Booster
Station
As previously noticed on January 27, 2017, and supplemented herein,
the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) that
will discuss the environmental impacts of the Midcontinent Supply
Header Interstate Pipeline Project (MIDSHIP Project) involving
construction and operation of facilities by Midship Pipeline Company,
LLC (Midship Pipeline) \1\ in Kingfisher, Canadian, Grady, Garvin,
Stephens, Carter, Johnston, and Bryan Counties, Oklahoma and leased
capacity on existing pipeline infrastructure in Oklahoma, Texas, and
Louisiana. The Commission will use this EIS in its decision-making
process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience
and necessity.
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\1\ The sponsor of the Midcontinent Supply Header Interstate
Pipeline Project, previously identified as Cheniere Midstream
Holdings, Inc., has changed its name to Midship Pipeline Company,
LLC.
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The Commission previously solicited public input on the MIDSHIP
Project in January 2017. With this Supplemental Notice of Intent (NOI)
we\2\ are specifically seeking comments on additional facilities
planned by Midship Pipeline and recently identified as part of the
MIDSHIP Project, specifically the Velma Lateral and Sholem Booster
Station. Your comments should focus on the potential environmental
effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen
environmental impacts from these facilities. Your input will help the
Commission staff determine what issues we 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 April 21, 2017. If you have already submitted comments
for the MIDSHIP Project prior to this Supplemental NOI, you do not need
to resubmit your comments.
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\2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the FERC's Office of Energy Projects.
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This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental
mailing list for this project, including the newly affected landowners
along the planned Velma Lateral and Sholem Booster Station. 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 newly affected landowner receiving this notice, a
pipeline company representative may have already contacted you or may
contact you soon 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 the 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.
[[Page 15355]]
Summary of the Velma Lateral and Sholem Booster Station
The Velma Lateral would consist of 13.3 miles of 16-inch-diameter
pipeline and associated appurtenances in Oklahoma. It would begin at a
gas supply facility near Velma in Stephens County, continue northeast
for approximately 6.5 miles, and connect with a gas supply facility
near Sholem, Oklahoma. Midship Pipeline would construct a new 3,750
horsepower compressor station, referred to as the Sholem Booster
Station, adjacent to the existing gas facility. From the compressor
station, the Velma Lateral would continue in a northeast direction
through portions of Stephens, Carter, and Garvin Counties for a total
of 6.8 miles, where it would terminate at the Tatums Compressor Station
near mainline Milepost 99.1. Midship Pipeline would construct a receipt
meter station at the tie-in within the Tatums Compressor Station. An
overview map of the planned project, including the Velma Lateral and
Sholem Booster Station, is provided in appendix 1. Construction of the
Velma Lateral and Sholem Booster Station would disturb about 168.3
acres of land. After construction, Midship Pipeline would maintain
about 82.2 acres for operation of these facilities; the remaining
acreage would be restored and revert to former uses.
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 via mail or
provided electronically. 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 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
(PF17-3-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A,
Washington, DC 20426.
Please note this is not your only public input opportunity; please
refer to the review process flow chart in appendix 2.
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
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 with the Velma Lateral and Sholem
Booster Station to address in the EIS. We will consider all filed
comments during the preparation of the EIS.
In the EIS we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the construction and operation of the MIDSHIP Project under these
general headings:
Geology and soils;
water resources and wetlands;
vegetation, wildlife, and fisheries;
endangered and threatened species;
land use, outdoor recreation, and scenery;
socioeconomics;
cultural resources;
air quality and noise;
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 for the MIDSHIP
Project, we initiated our NEPA review of the project under the
Commission's pre-filing process on November 9, 2016. The purpose of the
pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement of interested
stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before 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 EIS. In addition, FERC
representatives participated in the public open houses sponsored by
Midship Pipeline in El Reno, Lindsay, Ardmore, and Durant, Oklahoma
from December 12 through 15, 2016. On February 13, 14, 15, and 16,
2017, FERC held public scoping sessions in Durant, Ardmore, Elmore
City, and El Reno, respectively, to solicit comments regarding the
planned MIDSHIP Project.
The EIS will present our independent analysis of the issues. We
will publish and distribute the draft EIS for public comment. After the
comment period, we will consider all timely comments and revise the
document, as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. 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 Supplemental NOI, 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 EIS.\3\ 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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\3\ 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 applicable State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO), and to
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested
Native American tribes, and the public on the project's potential
effects on historic properties.\4\ We will define the project-specific
Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs as the
project develops. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a
minimum encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples
include
[[Page 15356]]
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor
stations, and access roads). Our EIS 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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\4\ 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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Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the planned facilities, the
environmental information provided by Midship Pipeline, comments
received at the project open houses, and scoping comments. This
preliminary list of potential issues may change based on your comments
and our analysis:
Impacts on water wells;
impacts on waterbodies and wetlands;
impacts on threatened and endangered species;
geological hazards;
impacts on future development due to pipeline route on
property;
impacts on air quality;
impacts on noise from planned compressor stations;
public safety; and
pipeline route alternatives.
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, as well as 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 Midship Pipeline 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. Motions to intervene are more fully described at
http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. Instructions
for becoming an intervenor are in the ``Document-less Intervention
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 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 (i.e., PF17-3). 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, Midship Pipeline has established toll-free telephone
numbers (888) 214-7275 for general inquiries or (800) 305-2466 for
landowner inquiries) and an email support address
([email protected]) so that parties can contact them directly with
questions about the project. You may also refer to Midship Pipeline's
project Web site for additional information at http://www.cheniere.com/pipelines/midship/.
Dated: March 22, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-06068 Filed 3-27-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P