[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 174 (Friday, September 7, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45428-45432]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19397]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP18-525-000]


Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the 
Proposed Gulf South Pipeline Company, LP Willis Lateral 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 Willis Lateral Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Gulf South 
Pipeline Company, LP (Gulf South) in Montgomery and San Jacinto 
Counties, Texas. 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 about issues regarding the project. The National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to take into account the 
environmental impacts that could result from its action whenever it 
considers the issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience and 
Necessity. NEPA also requires the Commission to discover 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. To ensure that your comments are timely 
and properly recorded, please submit your comments so that the 
Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before 5:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time on October 1, 2018.
    You can make a difference by submitting 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. Commission 
staff will consider and address all filed comments during the 
preparation of the EA.
    If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the 
opening of this docket on July 13, 2018, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. CP18-525-000 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 easement agreement. You 
are not required to enter into an agreement. However, if the Commission 
approves the project, that approval conveys with it the right of 
eminent domain. Therefore, if you and the company do not reach an 
easement agreement, the pipeline company could initiate condemnation 
proceedings in court. In such instances, compensation would be 
determined by a judge in accordance with state law.
    Gulf South 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 staff available to assist you at (866) 208-
3676 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, which is located on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) 
under the link to Documents and Filings. Using eComment 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, which is located 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 will be asked to select the type of filing you 
are making; a comment on a particular project is considered a ``Comment 
on a Filing''; 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 
(CP18-525-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426.

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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Gulf South proposes to construct, operate, and maintain various 
facilities in connection with its proposed Willis Lateral Project 
located in Montgomery and San Jacinto Counties, Texas. According to 
Gulf South, the Willis Lateral Project would provide about 200 million 
standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to the existing Goodrich 
Compressor Station.
    The Willis Lateral Project would consist of the following 
facilities:
     Approximately 19 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline;
     addition of a new 15,876 horsepower turbine engine to the 
existing Goodrich Compressor Station and construction of a new Meter 
and Regulator (M&R) station;
     a tie-in and launcher facility (including a pig \1\ 
launcher, and ancillary equipment);
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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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     a M&R station at the terminus of the project (including a 
pig receiver, filter separators with a liquid storage tank, and 
ancillary equipment); and
     a mainline valve facility.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\2\
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    \2\ 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 465 
acres of land for the aboveground facilities and the pipeline. 
Following construction, Gulf South would maintain about 141 acres of 
land for permanent operation of the project's facilities; the remaining 
acreage would be restored and would revert to former uses. About 91 
percent of the proposed pipeline route parallels existing pipeline, 
utility, or road rights-of-way.

The EA Process

    The EA 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
    Commission staff 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 Commission staffs' independent analysis of the 
issues. The EA will be available in the public record through eLibrary 
\3\ and will be issued for an allotted comment period. Commission staff 
will consider and address all comments on the EA before making 
recommendations to the Commission. To ensure Commission staff have the 
opportunity to address your comments, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the Public Participation section, beginning on page 2.
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    \3\ For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the 
last page of this notice.
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    With this notice, the Commission is asking agencies with 
jurisdiction by law and/or special expertise with respect to the 
environmental issues of this project to formally cooperate in the 
preparation of the EA.\4\ 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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    \4\ 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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Consultation 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, the Commission is using this notice to initiate 
consultation with the applicable State Historic Preservation Office 
(SHPO), and to solicit their views and those of other government 
agencies, interested Indian tribes, and the public on the project's 
potential effects on historic properties.\5\ Commission staff will 
define the project-specific Area of Potential Effects (APE) in 
consultation with the SHPO 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). 
The EA for this project will document findings on the impacts on 
historic properties and summarize the status of consultations under 
section 106.
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    \5\ 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. Commission staff will update the environmental 
mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that information 
related to this environmental review is sent to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the proposed project.
    A Notice of Availability of the EA will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list and will provide instructions to access the 
electronic document on the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov). If you need 
to make changes to your name/address, or if you would like to remove 
your name from the mailing list, please return the attached ``Mailing 
List Update Form'' (appendix 2).

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 in 
the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the last three digits (i.e., 
CP18-525). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 
502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of all 
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

[[Page 45430]]

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: August 31, 2018.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

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[FR Doc. 2018-19397 Filed 9-6-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-C