[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 62 (Monday, April 3, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16183-16184]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06417]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP16-38-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed WB Xpress Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the WB 
XPress Project, proposed by Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia) 
in the above-referenced docket. Columbia requests authorization to 
perform the following: (i) Installation, construction, and operation of 
about 29.3 miles of various diameter pipeline; (ii) modifications to 
seven existing compressor stations; (iii) construction and operation of 
two new compressor stations; (iv) uprates and restoration of the 
maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) on various segments of the 
existing WB and VB natural gas transmission pipeline systems; and (v) 
installation of various appurtenant and auxiliary facilities, all 
located in either Braxton, Clay, Grant, Hardy, Kanawha, Pendleton, 
Randolph, and Upshur Counties, West Virginia, or Clark, Fairfax, 
Fauquier, Loudoun, Shenandoah, or Warren Counties, Virginia.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the WB XPress Project in accordance with 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 
FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, with 
appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal 
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection, and West Virginia Division of Natural Resources 
participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EA. 
Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with 
respect to resources potentially affected by the proposal and 
participate in the NEPA analysis. The USFS and U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers will adopt the EA to fulfill their agency's NEPA obligations. 
The USFS will use the EA, as well as other supporting documentation, to 
consider the issuance of right-of-way authorization for the portion of 
the project on National Forest System lands. The U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers will use the EA and supporting documentation to consider the 
issuance of Clean Water Act Section 404 and Rivers and Harbors Act 
Section 10 permits.
    The proposed WB XPress Project includes the following facilities:

West Virginia

    Aboveground Facilities:
     One new West Virginia Compressor Station: A new, natural 
gas-fired compressor station at approximately MP 0.3 of the Line WB-5 
Extension in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
     Installation of new valve sites and launcher/receiver 
facilities along Line WB-5 in Kanawha, Grant and Clay Counties, West 
Virginia.
     Modifications to increase horsepower at four (4) existing 
Compressor Stations including Cleveland, Files Creek, Seneca, and Lost 
River Compressor Stations in Upshur, Randolph, Pendleton, and Hardy 
Counties, West Virginia, respectively.
     Modifications to existing natural gas pipeline 
appurtenances at the Frametown Compressor Station in Braxton County, 
West Virginia.
     Modifications to four existing Valve Sites including Glady 
Valve Site in Randolph County, West Virginia; Dink Valve Site in Clay 
County, West Virginia; Whitmer and Smokehole in Pendleton County, West 
Virginia; and one regulator station, Panther Mountain Regulator 
Station, in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
    Pipeline Facilities:
     Line WB-5 Extension: Installation of approximately 0.3 
mile of new 36-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline from the 
planned new Compressor Station to the Panther Mountain Regulator 
Station in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
     Line WB-22: Installation of approximately 0.6 mile of new 
36-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline from the proposed 
new West Virginia Compressor Stations to the Panther Regulator Station, 
ending at the proposed WB-22 Receiver Site in Kanawha County, West 
Virginia.
     Line WB: Generally lift and lay replacement of 
approximately 25.5 miles of 26-inch-diameter natural gas transmission 
pipeline loop and associated appurtenances in Randolph and Pendleton 
Counties, West Virginia.
     Line WB: Replacement of 5 sections, totaling approximately 
0.3 mile of 26-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline between 
Mileposts (MP) 134.6 and 146.4 in Pendleton, Grant, and Hardy Counties, 
West Virginia.

[[Page 16184]]

     Line WB-5: Replacement of approximately 1,185 feet (0.2 
mile) of 36-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline between MP 
4.5 and MP 4.7 in Grant County, West Virginia.
    MAOP Restoration:
     Line WB-5: Incremental pressure increase of approximately 
72.4 miles of the Line WB-5 Segment to restore this segment to its 
originally certificated MAOP of 1,000 square inch gauge (psig) in 
Upshur, Randolph, Pendleton, Grant and Hardy Counties, West Virginia.
    Uprate Segments:
     Line WB-6: Incremental pressure increase of approximately 
2.4 miles of the Line WB-6 to 1,000 psig MAOP in Randolph County, West 
Virginia.
     Line WB-5: Incremental pressure increase of approximately 
22.1 miles of the Line WB-5 Segment to 1,000 psig in Pendleton, Grant, 
and Hardy Counties, West Virginia.

Virginia

    Aboveground Facilities:
     One new, electric-driven compressor station at 
approximately MP 0.0 of the proposed new Line VA-1 in Fairfax County, 
Virginia.
     Installation of a receiver facility at the end of the 
proposed Line VA-1, in Fairfax County, Virginia.
     Modifications to increase horsepower at the existing 
Strasburg Compressor Station located in Shenandoah County Virginia, in 
order to increase capacity for the transportation of additional volume 
along Columbia's Line VB natural gas pipeline system.
     Modifications to existing natural gas pipeline 
appurtenances at the Loudoun Compressor Station in Loudoun County, 
Virginia.
     Modifications to the existing Dysart Valve Site, in 
Shenandoah County, Virginia and one metering station, Nineveh Meter 
Station, in Warren County, Virginia.
    Pipeline Facilities:
     Line VA-1: Installation of approximately 2.2 miles of new 
12-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline and associated 
appurtenances in Fairfax County, Virginia.
    MAOP Restoration:
     Line VB-5: Incremental pressure increase of approximately 
70.4 miles of the Line VB-5 Segment to restore this segment to its 
originally certificated MAOP of 1,000 psig in Shenandoah, Warren, 
Clark, Fauquier, and Loudoun Counties, Virginia.
    The USFS's purpose and need for the proposed action is to respond 
to a special use application, submitted by Columbia on August 19, 2016, 
to allow the construction and operation of the WB XPress project on 
national forest system lands managed by the Monongahela National 
Forest.
    The FERC staff mailed copies of the EA to federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; 
potentially affected landowners; interested individuals and groups; and 
newspapers and libraries in the project area. Everyone on our 
environmental mailing list will receive a CD version of the EA. In 
addition, the EA is available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site 
(www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies of 
the EA 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 EA may do so. Your comments 
should focus on the potential environmental effects, reasonable 
alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. 
The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. To 
ensure that the Commission has the opportunity to consider your 
comments prior to making its decision on this project, it is important 
that we receive your comments in Washington, DC on or before April 24, 
2017.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to file 
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the 
project docket number (CP16-38-000) 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].
    (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 also 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.'' You must select the type of filing you are making. If 
you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select 
``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426.
    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 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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    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., CP16-
38). 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.

    Dated: March 24, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-06417 Filed 3-31-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P