[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7029-7030]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-03247]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP17-441-000, CP17-441-001]


Northwest Pipeline LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Seattle Lateral Upgrade 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the North 
Seattle Lateral Upgrade Project, proposed by Northwest Pipeline LLC 
(Northwest) in the above-referenced docket. Northwest requests 
authorization to replace approximately 5.9 miles of 8-inch-diameter 
natural gas pipeline with 20-inch-diameter pipeline in Snohomish 
County, Washington. According to Northwest, the North Seattle Lateral 
Upgrade Project would increase service reliability and enable Northwest 
to provide an incremental 159,299 dekatherms per day of firm capacity 
to serve Puget Sound Energy.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the North Seattle Lateral Upgrade 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 proposed North Seattle Lateral Upgrade Project would consist of 
the following facilities:
     Replace 5.9-miles of 8-inch-diameter pipeline with 20-
inch-diameter pipeline;
     rebuild the existing North Seattle/Everett meter station 
in order to accommodate the increased delivery capacity of the North 
Seattle Lateral;
     abandon and relocate approximately 0.1 mile of 16-inch-
diameter pipeline;
     relocate an existing 8-inch pig launcher and a 20-inch pig 
receiver \1\ to project milepost 7.76; and
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    \1\ 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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     replace an existing 8-inch mainline valve with a 20-inch 
valve.
    The FERC staff mailed copies of the EA to federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; Native 
American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested 
individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the project 
area. In addition, the EA is available for public viewing on the FERC's 
website (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 March 13, 
2018.
    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 (CP17-441-000 and

[[Page 7030]]

CP17-441-001) 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 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 also file your comments electronically 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.'' 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).\2\ 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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    \2\ 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 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-
441). 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: February 12, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-03247 Filed 2-15-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P