[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 391-392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-28385]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R2-R-2017-N138]; FXRS12610200000-189-FF02RTTM00]


Application for Right of Way Permit for an Ethane Pipeline and 
Approved Compatibility Determination; San Bernard National Wildlife 
Refuge

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of availability; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, have received an 
application for a 30-year right-of-way (ROW) permit under the Migratory 
Bird Conservation Act from Lavaca Pipeline Company. The applicant 
wishes to install, own, and operate a natural gas pipeline within an 
existing ROW easement crossing 203 feet on San Bernard National 
Wildlife Refuge in Brazoria County, Texas. We request public comment on 
the permit application.

DATES: We must receive any written comments regarding the permit 
application on or before February 2, 2018.

ADDRESSES: If you wish to review documents and submit comments, you may 
request documents by U.S. mail, email, or phone (see below). Documents 
are also available for public inspection by appointment during normal 
business hours at the Texas Mid-coast Complex office below (open 8 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m.). Send your comments or requests by any one of the 
following methods.
     Email: [email protected] (use ``Lavaca ROW'' as 
your message subject line).
     Fax: 979-964-4021 (``Lavaca ROW'' subject line).
     U.S. mail: Project Leader, Texas Mid-coast Complex, U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service, 2547 County Road 316, Brazoria, TX 77422.
     In-person drop-off: You may drop off information during 
regular business hours, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the above office 
address.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Sanchez, 979-964-4011 
(phone), or [email protected] (email).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: There is also an approved compatibility 
determination available for review. Comments regarding the 
compatibility determination will be received and filed, but we will not 
be amending the document.

[[Page 392]]

Applicant's Proposal

    Lavaca Pipeline Company has requested to purchase a 30-foot-wide 
pipeline easement across a 203-foot-long section of the San Bernard 
National Wildlife Refuge NWR in Brazoria County, Texas. The (ROW) 
permit would enable the applicant to install, own, and operate a 16-
inch-diameter steel pipeline to transport ethane gas. The requested ROW 
overlies an existing ROW easement, and the pipeline would be laid 
parallel to an already existing pipeline. The applicant's pipeline 
would be installed by means of a conventional bore technique under 
refuge land; therefore, the process would not require trenching on 
refuge lands. No additional easement boundaries beyond the existing ROW 
are required. The bore holes will be located 300 feet outside the 
refuge property line on adjacent private lands.

Background

    Lavaca Pipeline Company is constructing a 16-inch-diameter pipeline 
for the transportation of ethane through Galveston, Brazoria, 
Matagorda, and Wharton Counties in Southeast Texas. Lavaca Pipeline is 
making efforts to co-locate the pipeline within existing pipeline ROW 
corridors. Lavaca Pipeline has requested to cross the San Bernard NWR 
along an existing ROW. Although a new ROW is being requested, an 
existing ROW and pipeline are already in place. The existing pipeline 
ROW is not an exclusive easement; therefore, additional ROWs and 
pipelines can be installed within the same cleared corridor. The 
requested permit would allow for the pipeline to cross a narrow (203-
foot-wide) strip of refuge that connects two larger parcels and is 
commonly referred to as the Sulfur Ditch.

Compatibility Determination

    In our compatibility determination, which was approved on July 26, 
2017, we determined that placing the pipeline across this narrow (203-
foot-wide) strip would minimize the impact to other refuge lands. 
Several options were evaluated, but it was determined that they would 
have resulted in greater impact than this proposal.

Public Availability of Comments

    Written comments we receive become part of the public record 
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may request in your comment that we withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so. We will not consider anonymous 
comments. All submissions from organizations or businesses, and from 
individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of 
organizations or businesses, will be made available for public 
disclosure in their entirety.

Authority

    We provide this notice under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act 
(16 U.S.C. 715d).

    Dated: November 6, 2017.
Lueders,
Regional Director, Southwest Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-28385 Filed 1-2-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P