[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60981-60983]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27729]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP18-13-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Line 8000 Replacement Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of the Line 8000 Replacement Project 
involving the abandonment, construction, and operation of facilities by 
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia) in Mineral County, West 
Virginia and Allegany County, Maryland. The Commission will use this EA 
in its decision-making process to determine whether the project is in 
the public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. You can make a difference by providing us with 
your specific comments or concerns about the project. 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 EA. 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 January 18, 2018.
    If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the 
opening of this docket on November 3, 2017, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. CP18-13-000 to ensure they are considered as 
part of this proceeding.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project. State and local government 
representatives should notify their constituents of this proposed 
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 proposed 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.
    Columbia provided landowners with a fact sheet prepared by the FERC 
entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I 
Need To Know?'' 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. It is also available for viewing on 
the FERC website (www.ferc.gov).

Public Participation

    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic 
filing of comments and has expert staff

[[Page 60982]]

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 website (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 website (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 
(CP18-13-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Columbia has developed a multi-year, comprehensive modernization 
program to address its aging infrastructure. As part of its 
modernization program, Columbia proposes to abandon and replace about 
14 miles of pipeline along Line 8000 and four laterals \1\ and abandon 
or modify associated minor aboveground facilities in Mineral County, 
West Virginia and Allegany County, Maryland. The Line 8000 Replacement 
Project would not increase capacity and would continue to serve the 
Maryland distribution markets. According to Columbia, by abandoning and 
replacing portions of the existing aging, bare steel pipeline, its 
project would increase system reliability, thereby greatly reducing the 
risk of interruptions to Columbia's customers.
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    \1\ A lateral is a segment of a pipeline that branches off the 
main or transmission line to transport the product to a termination 
point, such as a tank farm or a metering station.
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    The Line 8000 Replacement Project would consist of:
     Replacement of a total of approximately 13.25 miles of 
existing 12-inch-diameter bare steel pipeline, with approximately 13.54 
miles of new, coated 12-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline 
in five sections and four modification points along Line 8000 and 
Lateral Line 8006;
     replacement of a total of approximately 0.55 miles of 
existing 4-inch-diameter bare steel pipeline, with approximately 0.78 
miles of new coated 4-inch-diameter natural gas transmission pipeline 
along three laterals (Lateral Lines 8225, 8244, and 18012);
     installation of two new pig \2\ launcher and receiver 
sites and four new mainline valves associated with pipeline facilities;
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    \2\ A pig is a tool that the pipeline company inserts into and 
pushes through the pipeline for cleaning the pipeline, conducting 
internal inspections, or other purposes.
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     modifications/abandonment of four existing mainline valves 
and three existing side tap valve sites and modification of tie-ins at 
two regulator stations; and
     abandonment of 13 active residential taps and 109 inactive 
taps.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\3\
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    \3\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of 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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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would disturb about 288 
acres of land for the pipelines and minor aboveground facilities. 
Following construction, Columbia would maintain about 71 acres for 
permanent operation of the project's facilities; the remaining acreage 
would be restored and revert to former uses. Approximately 85 percent 
of the new Line 8000 pipeline would be co-located within the right-of-
way of the existing Line 8000 pipeline (to be abandoned). Approximately 
15 percent of the new Line 8000 pipeline would be located within a new 
right-of-way due to construction constraints that prevents co-location 
with the pipeline to be abandoned.

The EA 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 
\4\ 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 EA on the important 
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. We will 
consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EA.
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    \4\ We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff of the 
Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     land use;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     cultural resources;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     air quality and noise;
     endangered and threatened species;
     public safety; and
     cumulative impacts
    We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed 
project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to 
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA 
will be available in the public record through eLibrary. Depending on 
the comments received during the scoping process, we may also publish 
and distribute the EA to the public for an allotted comment period. We 
will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendations 
to the Commission. 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 notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law 
and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues of 
this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the 
EA.\5\ 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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    \5\ 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

[[Page 60983]]

agencies, interested Indian tribes, and the public on the project's 
potential effects on historic properties.\6\ 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 construction right-of-way, contractor/
pipe storage yards, compressor stations, and access roads). Our EA 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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    \6\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's 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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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 
proposed project.
    If we publish and distribute the EA, copies 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 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, 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 ``Document-less Intervention Guide'' under the ``e-filing'' link on 
the Commission's website. Motions to intervene are more fully described 
at http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.

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 website at 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., CP18-
13). 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, public sessions or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

    Dated: December 19, 2017.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-27729 Filed 12-22-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P