[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 79 (Wednesday, April 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17150-17152]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08216]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF18-2-000]


Equitrans Midstream Corporation; Amended Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned Tri-State Corridor 
Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

    As previously noticed on February 20, 2018, and amended herein, 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 Tri-State Corridor Pipeline Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Equitrans 
Midstream Corporation (Equitrans) in Washington County, Pennsylvania 
and Brooke County, West Virginia. 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 a second scoping period (due 
to pipeline route changes in the project design) 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 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 May 20, 2019.
    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 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 October 17, 2017, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. PF18-2-000 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, which includes newly identified affected 
landowners along the revised pipeline route and landowners who would no 
longer be affected by the previous pipeline route. State and local 
government representatives should notify their constituents of this 
planned 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 planned 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.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know? is available for 
viewing on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) at https://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/gas/gas.pdf. 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.

Public Participation

    The Commission offers a free service called eSubscription which 
makes it easy to stay informed of all issuances and submittals 
regarding the dockets/projects to which you subscribe. These instant 
email notifications are the fastest way to receive notification and 
provide a link to the document files which can reduce the amount of 
time you spend researching proceedings. To sign up go to www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
    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 
(PF18-2-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, 
DC 20426

Summary of the Planned Project

    Since issuance of our February 20, 2018 notice, Equitrans has taken 
over the planned project from Brooke County Access I, LLC. Additionally 
Equitrans has modified approximately 60 percent of the original 
pipeline route and added or modified workspaces, access roads, and 
other project components.

[[Page 17151]]

    Equitrans plans to construct and operate approximately 17 miles of 
new natural gas transmission line and new facilities in Washington 
County, Pennsylvania and Brooke County, West Virginia. The purpose of 
the project is to provide 140 million cubic feet of firm natural gas 
transportation service per day to a proposed Power Facility being 
constructed by ESC Brooke County Power I, LLC in Brooke County, West 
Virginia.
    The Tri-State Corridor Pipeline Project would consist of 
constructing the following facilities:
     Approximately 16.7 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Washington County;
     approximately 0.3 mile of 16-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Brooke County;
     three interconnect/metering and regulating stations and 
mainline valves in Washington County;
     one metering and regulating station at the Power Facility 
in Brooke County; and
     new and existing temporary and permanent access roads and 
contractor/laydown yards.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the 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 planned facilities would disturb about 260 
acres of land for the aboveground facilities and the pipeline. 
Following construction, Equitrans would maintain about 104 acres for 
permanent operation of the project's facilities; the remaining acreage 
would be restored and revert to former uses. About 7 percent of the 
planned 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 planned project under these general 
headings:
     Geology and soils;
     water resources and wetlands;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     threatened and endangered species;
     cultural resources;
     land use;
     air quality and noise;
     public safety; and
     cumulative impacts.
    Commission staff will also evaluate possible alternatives to the 
planned project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on 
how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Although no formal application has been filed, Commission staff 
have already initiated a NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing 
process. The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early 
involvement of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve 
issues before the Commission receives an application. As part of the 
pre-filing review, Commission staff will contact federal and state 
agencies to discuss their involvement in the scoping process and the 
preparation of the EA.
    The EA will present Commission staffs' independent analysis of the 
issues. The EA will be available in electronic format in the public 
record through eLibrary \2\ and the Commission's website (https://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/eis.asp). If eSubscribed, you will 
receive instant email notification when the EA is issued. The EA may be 
issued for an allotted public comment period. Commission staff will 
consider all comments on the EA before making recommendations to the 
Commission. To ensure Commission staff have the opportunity to consider 
and address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in 
the Public Participation section, beginning on page 2.
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    \2\ 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 related to this project to formally cooperate in 
the preparation of the EA.\3\ 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. Currently, the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources has 
expressed its intention to participate as a cooperating agency in the 
preparation of the EA.
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    \3\ 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(s), 
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.\4\ The EA for this project will 
document our findings on the impacts on historic properties and 
summarize the status of consultations under section 106.
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    \4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 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; 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 Commission notices related to this environmental review are 
sent to all individuals, organizations, and government entities 
interested in and/or potentially affected by the planned project.
    If the Commission issues the EA for an allotted public comment 
period, 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).

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once Equitrans files its application with the Commission, you may 
want to become an intervenor which is an official party to the 
Commission's proceeding. Only intervenors have the right to seek 
rehearing of the Commission's decision and be heard by the courts if 
they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. An intervenor 
formally participates in the proceeding by filing a request to 
intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice 
and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214). Motions

[[Page 17152]]

to intervene are more fully described at http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. Please note that the Commission will not 
accept requests for intervenor status at this time. You must wait until 
the Commission receives a formal application for the project, after 
which the Commission will issue a public notice that establishes an 
intervention deadline.

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 (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., PF18-
2). 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 all formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 
notices, and rulemakings.
    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: April 18, 2019.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-08216 Filed 4-23-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P