[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 30 (Thursday, February 13, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8276-8278]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02902]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket Nos. CP19-491-000; CP19-494-000]
National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation; Transcontinental Gas Pipe
Line Company, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Environmental
Assessment for the Proposed Fm100 and Leidy South Projects
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the FM100
Project and the Leidy South Project (collectively referred to as the
Projects), proposed by National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (National
Fuel) and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco),
respectively, in the above-referenced dockets. National Fuel requests
authorization to construct, operate, and maintain new natural gas
facilities in McKean and Potter Counties; install new compressor
stations in McKean and Clinton Counties; abandon existing pipeline
facilities in Cameron, Clearfield, Elk, and Potter Counties; and
abandon an existing compressor station in Potter County (all in
Pennsylvania), to modernize National Fuel's existing transmission
system and provide an additional 330,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of
incremental natural gas transportation capacity to Transco. Transco
requests authorization to construct, operate, and maintain new natural
gas facilities in Clinton and Lycoming Counties; install new compressor
stations in Luzerne and Schuylkill Counties; add additional compression
at existing compressor stations in Wyoming and Columbia Counties; and
abandon an existing pipeline in Clinton County (all in Pennsylvania),
to provide 582,400 Dth/d of firm natural gas transportation service
from shale producing areas in northern and western Pennsylvania to
Transco's industrial, commercial, and residential customers in the
eastern United States.
The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the Projects in accordance with the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA).
The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed Projects, with
appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Baltimore and Pittsburgh
Districts) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency participated as
cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EA. Cooperating agencies
have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to resources
potentially affected by the proposal and participate in the NEPA
analysis.
The Projects would include the following facilities (all located in
Pennsylvania):
FM100 Project
Approximately 29.5 miles of new 20-inch-diameter pipeline
in McKean and Potter Counties (Line YM58);
[[Page 8277]]
approximately 1.4 miles of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline
loop \1\ in Potter County (Line YM224);
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ A loop is a segment of pipe that is usually installed
adjacent to an existing pipeline and connected to it at both ends.
The loop allows more gas to be moved through the system
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
approximately 0.4 mile of 12-inch-diameter pipeline
extension in McKean County (Line KL Extension);
a new 15,165-horsepower (hp) compressor station in McKean
County (Marvindale Compressor Station);
a new 22,220-hp compressor station in Clinton County
(Tamarack Compressor Station);
a new producer interconnect station in McKean County
(Marvindale Interconnect);
a new over pressure protection (OPP) station in Potter
County (Carpenter Hollow OPP Station);
modification of the existing Leidy Interconnect LDC 2245
at the Leidy Metering and Regulation Station in Clinton County;
appurtenant facilities including valves, pig launchers,
pig receivers, and anode beds;
abandonment of approximately 44.9 miles of 12-inch-
diameter pipeline and associated appurtenant facilities in Cameron,
Clearfield, Elk, and Potter Counties (Line FM100);
abandonment of a 1,440-hp compressor station and
associated facilities in Potter County (Costello Compressor Station);
and
abandonment of aboveground piping and measurement and over
pressurization equipment in Potter County (Station WHP-MS-4317X).
Leidy South Project
Approximately 6.3 miles of new 36-inch-diameter pipeline
and associated abandonment by removal of approximately 5.8 miles of
existing 23.375-inch-diameter pipeline Leidy Line A in Clinton County
(Hensel Replacement);
approximately 2.4 miles of new 36-inch-diameter pipeline
looping in Clinton County (Hilltop Loop);
approximately 3.5 miles of new 42-inch-diameter pipeline
looping in Lycoming County (Benton Loop), including a new 90-foot-tall
communication tower;
uprate of the two existing compressor units to increase
total hp from 30,000 hp to 42,000 hp at Compressor Station 605 in
Wyoming County;
uprate of the two existing compressor units to increase
total hp from 40,000 hp to 42,000 hp and install a new 31,871-hp
compressor unit at Compressor Station 610 in Columbia County;
a new 46,930-hp compressor station in Luzerne County
(Compressor Station 607), including a new 190-foot-tall, free-standing
communication tower;
a new 31,871-hp compressor station in Schuylkill County
(Compressor Station 620); and
appurtenant facilities including valves, pig launchers,
and pig receivers.
Additionally, both National Fuel and Transco propose to use
temporary access roads and staging areas to support construction
activities and would establish new permanent access roads to support
operation of the new facilities.
The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability for the
EA 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
area of the Projects. The EA is only available in electronic format. It
may be viewed and downloaded from FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on the
Environmental Documents page (http://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/eis.asp). In addition, the EA may be accessed by using the
eLibrary link on FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp), click on General Search, and
enter the docket number in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the
last three digits (i.e., CP19-491 and/or CP19-494). 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.
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 the Projects, it is important
that the Commission receive your comments on or before 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on March 9, 2020.
For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to file
your comments with the Commission. In all instances, please reference
the Project docket numbers (CP19-491-000 and/or CP19-494-000) with your
submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and
has expert staff available to assist you at (866) 208-3676 or
[email protected].
(1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment
feature located 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'' 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 Projects' docket
numbers (CP19-491-000 and/or CP19-494-000) with your submission:
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). Motions to intervene are more
fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or
judicial review of the Commission's decision. The Commission may grant
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.
Additional information about the Projects 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. 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
[[Page 8278]]
by automatically providing you with notification of these filings,
document summaries, and direct links to the documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
Dated: February 7, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-02902 Filed 2-12-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P