[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 62 (Friday, March 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13741-13742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06410]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP17-101-000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, 
Northeast Supply Enhancement Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE Project or Project) 
as proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco) in 
the above-referenced docket. Transco requests authorization to 
construct and operate 36.9 miles of onshore and offshore natural gas 
transmission pipeline loop \1\ and associated facilities, one new 
natural gas-fired compressor station, and modifications at one existing 
compressor station. The Project would provide about 400,000 dekatherms 
per day of natural gas to end use residential and commercial customers 
in the New York City area.
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    \1\ A loop is a segment of pipe that is installed adjacent to an 
existing pipeline and connected to it at both ends. A loop generally 
allows more gas to move through the system.
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    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 (NEPA). The FERC 
staff concludes that approval of the Project would result in some 
adverse environmental impacts; however, all impacts would be reduced to 
less-than-significant levels with the implementation of Transco's 
proposed mitigation and the additional measures recommended in the 
draft EIS.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, and the City of New York participated as cooperating agencies 
in the preparation of the draft EIS. Cooperating agencies have 
jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to resources 
potentially affected by the proposals and participate in the NEPA 
analysis. Although the cooperating agencies provide input to the 
conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the 
agencies will each present its own conclusions and recommendations in 
its respective record of decision or determination for the Project.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following Project facilities:
     10.2 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline loop in Lancaster 
County, Pennsylvania (the Quarryville Loop);
     3.4 miles of 26-inch-diameter pipeline loop in Middlesex 
County, New Jersey (the Madison Loop);
     23.5 miles of 26-inch-diameter pipeline loop in Middlesex 
and Monmouth Counties, New Jersey, and Queens and Richmond Counties, 
New York (the Raritan Bay Loop \2\);
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    \2\ Except for 0.2 mile of pipe in onshore Middlesex County, New 
Jersey, the Raritan Bay Loop would occur in offshore New Jersey 
waters (6.0 miles) and offshore New York waters (17.3 miles).
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     modification of existing Compressor Station 200 in Chester 
County, Pennsylvania;
     construction of new Compressor Station 206 in Somerset 
County, New Jersey; and
     ancillary facilities (including cathodic protection 
systems, new and modified mainline valves with tie-in assemblies, new 
and modified launcher/receiver facilities, and facilities to connect 
the Raritan Bay Loop to the existing Rockaway Delivery Lateral at the 
Rockaway Transfer Point).
    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 May 
14, 2018.
    For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal 
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,

[[Page 13742]]

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 
(CP17-101-000) 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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Wednesday, April 25, 5:00 to   George Bush Senior Center, 1 Old Bridge
 9:00 p.m.                      Plaza, Old Bridge, NJ 08857, (732) 721-
                                5600.
Thursday, April 26, 5:00 to    Best Western Gregory Hotel, 8315 4th
 9:00 p.m.                      Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11209, (718) 238-
                                3737.
Wednesday, May 2, 5:00 to      Franklin Township Community Center, 505
 9:00 p.m.                      Demott Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873, (732)
                                873-1991.
Thursday, May 3, 5:00 to 9:00  Solanco High School, 585 Solanco Road,
 p.m.                           Quarryville, PA 17566, (717) 786-2151.
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    The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify 
the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS. 
Individual verbal comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a 
court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount 
of verbal comments in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.
    Each comment session is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time Zone. You may arrive at any time after 5:00 p.m. There 
will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the session 
opens. The Commission staff will hand out numbers to those who wish to 
speak in the order of their arrival until 8:00 p.m. 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 8:00 p.m.
    Your verbal comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with 
FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public 
record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on 
FERC's eLibrary system (see below for instructions on using eLibrary). 
If a significant number of people are interested in providing verbal 
comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 3 to 5 minutes may 
be implemented for each commenter.
    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. Although there will not be a formal 
presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the evening 
to answer your questions about the environmental review process.
    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 part 385.214).\3\ 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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    \3\ 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-
101). 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: March 23, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-06410 Filed 3-29-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P