[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 71 (Friday, April 14, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 17988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07543]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-558-000]


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

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a final 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 120.2-mile-long 
greenfield pipeline to provide 1.1 million dekatherms per day of year-
round natural gas transportation service from northern Pennsylvania to 
markets in eastern and southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and 
surrounding states. The 120.2 miles would consist of 116.0 miles of 36-
inch-diameter pipeline (78.3 miles in Pennsylvania and 37.7 miles in 
New Jersey) as well as three laterals totaling 4.2 miles, and up to 
47,700 horsepower (hp) of compression at one new compressor station in 
Carbon County, Pennsylvania.
    The final 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 our recommended mitigation measures. This 
determination is based on our 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 (EPA), U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers, and U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource 
Conservation Service participated as cooperating agencies in the 
preparation of the final 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 final EIS, the agencies will present their own 
conclusions and recommendations in any respective record of decision or 
determination for the project.
    The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
     116.0 miles of new, 36-inch-diameter pipeline extending 
from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania to Mercer County, New Jersey;
     the 2.1-mile Hellertown Lateral consisting of 24-inch-
diameter pipeline in Northampton County, Pennsylvania;
     the 0.6-mile Gilbert Lateral consisting of 12-inch-
diameter pipeline in Hunterdon County, New Jersey;
     the 1.5-mile Lambertville Lateral consisting of 36-inch-
diameter pipeline in Hunterdon County, New Jersey;
     new, 47,700 hp Kidder Compressor Station in Kidder 
Township, Carbon County, Pennsylvania; and
     associated aboveground facilities including eight metering 
and regulating stations for interconnections, eleven main line valve 
sites, and four pig launcher/receiver sites.
    The FERC staff mailed copies of the final 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 1 in paper copy with the remainder on CD) 
were mailed to those specifically requesting them; all others received 
a CD version of the complete document.
    In addition, the final 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.
    In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality's (CEQ) 
regulations implementing NEPA, no agency decision on a proposed action 
may be made until 30 days after the EPA publishes a notice of 
availability of the final EIS in the Federal Register. However, the CEQ 
regulations provide an exception to this rule when an agency decision 
is subject to a formal internal appeal process that allows other 
agencies or the public to make their views known. In such cases, the 
agency decision may be made at the same time the notice of the final 
EIS is published, allowing both periods to run concurrently. The 
Commission decision for this proposed action is subject to a 30-day 
rehearing period.
    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., CP15-
558). 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: April 6, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-07543 Filed 4-13-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P