[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 141 (Wednesday, July 22, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44289-44291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-15262]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF20-1-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Planned Northern Lights 2021 Expansion 
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 Northern Lights 2021 Expansion 
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Northern 
Natural Gas Company (Northern) in Dakota, Scott, Pine, Carleton, and 
Morrison counties, Minnesota. 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 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 
August 10, 2020.
    You can make a difference by submitting your specific comments or

[[Page 44290]]

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 December 6, 2019, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. PF20-1 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 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) under the natural gas 
Landowner Topics link (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/natural-gas-project-landownerstakeholder-topics-interest). 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. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overviewtoregisterforeSubscription.
    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 FERC Online. 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 FERC Online. 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 
(PF20-1) 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

    Northern plans to construct a pipeline loop \1\ and a pipeline 
extension totaling about 1.5 miles, replace a 425-foot-long 8-inch-
diameter branch line with 12-inch-diameter pipeline of the same length, 
construct one new compressor station, and add additional compression at 
one existing compressor station, all located in various counties in 
Minnesota. According to Northern, the planned facilities are required 
to serve the firm transportation requirements of its customers 
associated with increased energy needs.
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    \1\ A pipeline loop is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to 
an existing pipeline to increase capacity.
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    The Northern Lights 2021 Project would consist of the following 
facilities:
     The Willmar D Branch Line Extension (about 0.8 mile of 24-
inch-diameter pipeline);
     the Carlton Interconnect Loop (about 0.7 mile of 24-inch-
diameter pipeline);
     replacement of 425 feet of 8-inch-diameter pipeline on the 
Viking Interconnect Branch Line with a 12-inch-diameter branch line of 
the same length;
     a new greenfield natural gas-fired Hinckley Compressor 
Station, which would include one 11,153-horsepower natural gas-fired 
turbine, one gas heating skid, and one natural gas-fired backup 
electric generator;
     modifications of the Pierz Compressor Station consisting 
of adding an additional 1,100 horsepower electric motor-driven 
compressor unit; and,
     appurtenant facilities including one new pig \2\ receiver 
and one new pig launcher, and associated piping and valves.
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    \2\ 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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    The general location of the project 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 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 34.8 
acres of land for the aboveground facilities and the pipeline. 
Following construction, Northern would maintain about 14.4 acres for 
permanent operation of the project facilities; the remaining acreage 
would be restored and revert to former uses. About 95 percent of the 
planned pipeline routes parallel 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;
 socioeconomics;
 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.

[[Page 44291]]

    Although no formal application has been filed, Commission staff has 
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 staff's independent analysis of the 
issues. The EA will be available in electronic format in the public 
record through eLibrary \4\ and the Commission's natural gas 
environmental documents web page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents). 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 has 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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    \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 related to this project 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, Sec.  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.\6\ 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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    \6\ 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; 
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 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 Northern 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 to intervene are more fully 
described at https://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to.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., 
PF20-1). 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 https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/eventsalong with 
other related information.

    Dated: July 9, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-15262 Filed 7-21-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P