[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7030-7031]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03203]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP17-458-000]
Midship Pipeline Company, LLC Notice of Availability of the Draft
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Midcontinent Supply
Header Interstate Pipeline Project
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the Midcontinent Supply Header Interstate Pipeline Project,
proposed by Midship Pipeline Company, LLC (Midship Pipeline) in the
above-referenced docket. Midship Pipeline requests authorization to
construct and operate approximately 233.6 miles of new pipeline, three
compressor stations, a booster station, and accompanying facilities
that would deliver an additional 1.44 billion standard cubic feet per
day of year-round firm transportation capacity from Kingfisher County,
Oklahoma to existing natural gas pipelines near Bennington, Oklahoma
for transport to growing Gulf Coast and Southeast Markets.
The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the project in accordance with the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The FERC staff
concludes that approval of the project would result in some adverse
environmental impacts; however, these impacts would be reduced to less-
than-significant levels with the implementation of Midship Pipeline's
proposed mitigation and the additional measures recommended in the
draft EIS.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency participated as a
cooperating agency in the preparation of the EIS. Cooperating agencies
have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to resources
potentially affected by the proposal and participate in the National
Environmental Policy Act analysis. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency provided input to the conclusions and recommendations presented
in the draft EIS.
The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the following proposed project facilities
in Oklahoma:
199.6 miles of new 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline
in Kingfisher, Canadian, Grady, Garvin, Stephens, Carter, Johnston, and
Bryan Counties;
20.4 miles of new 30-inch-diameter pipeline lateral in
Kingfisher County;
13.6 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline lateral in
Stephens, Carter, and Garvin Counties;
three new compressor stations and one new booster station
in Canadian, Garvin, Bryan, and Stephens Counties; and
seven new receipt meters, two new receipt taps, four new
delivery meters, and appurtenant facilities.
Distribution and Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement
The FERC staff mailed copies of the draft 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 draft EIS were mailed to those specifically requesting
them; all others received a CD version. In addition, the draft EIS is
available for public viewing on the FERC's website (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.
Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensure
consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is
important that the Commission receive your comments on or before April
2, 2018.
For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal
[[Page 7031]]
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form
or provided verbally. 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 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.
(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
(CP17-458-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A,
Washington, DC 20426.
4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the
Commission invites you to attend one of the public comment sessions its
staff will conduct in the project area to receive comments on the draft
EIS, scheduled as follows:
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Date and time Location
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March 12, 2018, 4:00-8:00 pm........... Donald W. Reynolds Community
Center, 1515 W. Main Street,
Durant, OK 74701, (580) 924-
3486.
March 13, 2018, 4:00-8:00 pm........... Ardmore Convention Center, 2401
N. Rockford Road, Ardmore, OK
73401, (580) 226-2862.
March 14, 2018, 4:00-8:00 pm........... Elmore City Community Center,
104 S. Main Street, Elmore
City, OK 73433, (580) 788-
2345.
March 15, 2018, 4:00-8:00 pm........... Redlands Community College,
1300 S. Country Club Road, El
Reno, OK 73036, (405) 262-
2552.
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There will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff at any
of the public comment sessions, although a format outline handout will
be made available. Each comment sessions is scheduled from 4:00 p.m. to
8:00 p.m. (central time zone). If you wish to speak, the Commission
staff will hand out numbers in the order of your arrival; distribution
of numbers will be discontinued at 7:00 p.m. However, if no additional
numbers have been handed out and all individuals who wish to provide
comments have had an opportunity to do so, staff may conclude the
session at 7:00 p.m.
The primary goal of the public comment sessions is to have you
identify the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft
EIS. Individual verbal comments will be recorded on a one-on-one basis
with a Court Reporter (with FERC staff or representative present) and
become part of the public record for this proceeding. If a significant
number of people are interested in providing verbal comments in the
one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be implemented for
each commentor. Transcripts of all comments from the sessions will be
placed into the docket for the project, which are accessible for public
viewing on the FERC's website (at www.ferc.gov) through our eLibrary
system. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount of verbal
comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.
Commission staff will be available at each venue of the public
sessions to answer questions about our environmental review process. It
is important to note that written comments mailed to the Commission and
those submitted electronically are reviewed by staff with the same
scrutiny and consideration as the verbal comments given at the public
sessions.
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 (Title 18 of the Code of Federal Regulations,
Part 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 that 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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Questions
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the
FERC website (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., CP17-
458). 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: February 9, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-03203 Filed 2-15-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P