[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 42 (Tuesday, March 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12547-12548]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-04323]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP20-12-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Leach XPress Project 
Amendment 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 Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC's 
(Columbia Gas) request for authorization to amend its certificate of 
public convenience and necessity granted by the Commission in the Order 
Issuing Certificates and Approving Abandonment (Order) issued on 
January 19, 2017 in Docket No. CP15-514-000 for the Leach XPress 
Project.
    The amendment would involve the current and future operation of the 
Ceredo and Crawford Compressor Stations in Wayne County, West Virginia 
and Fairfield County, Ohio, respectively. The Commission will use this 
EA in its decision-making process to determine whether the amendment 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 amendment. 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 an authorization. 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 Friday, March 27, 2020.
    You can make a difference by submitting your specific comments or 
concerns about the amendment. Your comments should focus on the 
potential operational impacts from the amendment. 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.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for the amendment. State and local government 
representatives should notify their constituents of this proposed 
amendment and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.

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 amendment docket number 
(CP20-12-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426

Summary of the Proposed Amendment

    Columbia Gas's proposed amendment would modify the Order's noise 
level requirement, environmental condition 31, for the Ceredo and 
Crawford Compressor Stations. Since issuance of the Leach XPress 
Project Order, Columbia Gas has implemented several mitigation measures 
to reduce the noise levels at the nearest noise sensitive areas 
surrounding the Ceredo Compressor Station, and it claims that it is 
infeasible to further mitigate noise levels at this station at the 
current level of full-load operations. Columbia Gas did not install and 
was not authorized to install any modified compressor units at the 
Crawford Compressor Station, and it has confirmed that noise levels at 
the Crawford Compressor Station have not increased above the pre-
existing noise levels since issuance of the Leach XPress Project Order.
    Columbia Gas's proposed amendment would restrict any noise level 
increases at both stations and would slightly reduce the current noise 
levels at the Ceredo Compressor Station, as noted below. Columbia Gas's 
requested amendment, however, would modify the noise level restriction 
required by environmental condition 31 of the Leach XPress Project 
Order that currently requires it to ensure that noise levels do not 
exceed an day-night sound level of 55 decibels on the A-weighted scale 
at the nearest noise sensitive areas. Columbia Gas requests that the 
Commission modify environmental condition 31 to ensure that the noise

[[Page 12548]]

generated by the Ceredo and Crawford Compressor Stations is consistent 
with the Commission's policy regarding noise levels at legacy 
compression stations \1\ that were built and operated prior to the 
Commission's noise level criteria included in environmental condition 
31.\2\
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    \1\ If the noise generated by an existing compressor station 
already exceeds an day-night sound level of 55 decibels on the A-
weighted scale, any proposed modification or expansion of the 
compressor station should not increase above current levels after 
installing the new project equipment (Guidance Manual for 
Environmental Report Preparation for applications filed under the 
Natural Gas Act, February 2017, p.4-133; also see 18 CFR 
157.206(b)(5)(ii)(B).
    \2\ The Ceredo Compressor Station was originally constructed in 
the mid-1950s and the Crawford Compressor Station was originally 
constructed prior to 1920 and has existing compressor units 
installed in the 1950s and 1960s. Both compressor stations continue 
to use legacy facilities to support system operations.
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    The legacy reciprocating units are the most dominant noise source 
at the Ceredo Compressor Station, and Columbia Gas's proposed amendment 
would also modify its operation of the Ceredo Compressor Station 
authorized in the Leach XPress Project Order to reduce operational 
noise levels on noise sensitive areas by the following: (1) Using four 
instead of five of the seven legacy reciprocating units at any given 
time, and (2) increasing the horsepower (hp) rate from 11,000 hp to 
13,000 hp from each of three electric-driven compressor units installed 
since issuance of the Leach XPress Project Order. This proposed 
operational change would not involve any construction activities.
    The general location of the Ceredo and Crawford Compressor Station 
facilities is shown in appendix 1.\3\
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    \3\ 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

    Given that no ground disturbance or material construction would 
take place within Ceredo or Crawford Compressor Stations, no land would 
be required for the amendment.

The EA Process

    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur to noise quality as a 
result of the amendment's operational changes and noise mitigation 
proposed by Columbia Gas. Commission staff will also evaluate 
reasonable alternatives to the proposed amendment, and may make 
recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on noise quality.
    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 \4\ 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 address 
your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 
Participation section, beginning on page 2.
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    \4\ 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 amendment to formally cooperate in the 
preparation of the EA.\5\ 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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    \5\ 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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Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes noise sensitive receivers 
within 0.5 mile of the Ceredo and Crawford Compressor Stations and 
anyone who submits comments on the amendment. 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 proposed amendment.
    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).

Additional Information

    Additional information about the amendment 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., CP20-
12). 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.

    Dated: February 26, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-04323 Filed 3-2-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P