[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 23, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83947-83949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28390]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP20-52-000; CP20-52-001]


WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Bakken Expansion 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the North 
Bakken Expansion Project proposed by WBI Energy Transmission, Inc. (WBI 
Energy) in the above-referenced docket. WBI Energy requests 
authorization to construct, modify, operate, and maintain a new natural 
gas pipeline and associated facilities in McKenzie, Williams, 
Mountrail, and Burke Counties, North Dakota to transport up to 250,000 
million cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Williston Basin in 
northwest North Dakota to a new interconnect with Northern Border 
Pipeline Company's existing mainline. The proposed facilities are 
collectively known as the North Bakken Expansion Project (Project).
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC 
staff concludes that approval of the proposed Project, 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 (USACE), the U.S. Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM), and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) participated as 
cooperating agencies in the preparation

[[Page 83948]]

of this EA. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise with respect to resources potentially affected by WBI 
Energy's proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. The USACE will 
use the EA and supporting documentation to consider the issuance of 
Clean Water Act Section 404, Section 408, and Rivers and Harbors Act 
Section 10 permits. The Project would also cross lands administered by 
the USACE and USFS. While the BLM does not have any BLM-administered 
lands identified as part of the proposed route alignment for this 
Project, the BLM will use the EA, along with other supporting 
documentation, in coordination with the USACE and USFS, in the issuance 
of a Mineral Leasing Act (MLA) right-of-way grant over federally 
administered lands (USACE and USFS). Although the cooperating agencies 
provided input to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the 
EA, the agencies will present their own conclusions and recommendations 
in their respective decision process for the Project.
    The proposed North Bakken Expansion Project includes the following 
facilities in North Dakota:
     62.8 miles of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline from WBI 
Energy's Tioga Compressor Station in Williams County to the proposed 
Elkhorn Creek Compressor Station in McKenzie County;
     0.3 mile of new 24-inch-diameter pipeline between the 
proposed Elkhorn Creek Compressor Station and Northern Border Pipeline 
Company in McKenzie County;
     20.3 miles of new 12-inch-diameter pipeline looping along 
WBI Energy's existing Line Section 25 between the Tioga Compressor 
Station and the proposed Norse Transfer Station in Burke County; \1\
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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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     replacement of the existing 0.1 mile 6-inch-diameter 
Stoneview-Conoco Lateral with 0.1 mile of 8-inch-diameter natural gas 
pipeline from Line Section 25 to the proposed Norse Transfer Station in 
Burke County.
     9.6 miles of new 12-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline 
looping along WBI Energy's Line Section 30 between the Nesson Valve 
Setting and the Tioga Compressor Station in Williams County;
     0.5 mile of new 20-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline 
between the new Tioga Plant Receipt Station and new facilities at the 
Tioga Compressor Station in Williams County;
     uprates to WBI Energy's Line Section 25 in Burke County;
     one new 3,750 horsepower compressor station (Elkhorn Creek 
Compressor Station) in McKenzie County and the addition of 11,250 
horsepower at the existing Tioga Compressor Station in Williams County;
     new, and modifications to, existing delivery, receipt, and 
transfer stations along WBI Energy's pipeline routes in Burke, 
McKenzie, Mountrail, and Williams Counties; and
     replacement of small segments of pipeline facilities and 
installation of block valves, pig \2\ launcher/receiver stations, and 
associated appurtenances.
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    \2\ A pipeline pig is a device used to clean or inspect the 
pipeline. A pig launcher/receiver is an aboveground facility where 
pigs are inserted or retrieved from the pipeline.
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    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability to 
federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; 
elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native 
American tribes; potentially affected landowners, and local libraries 
and newspapers. The EA is only available in electronic format. It may 
be viewed and downloaded from FERC's website (www.ferc.gov) on the 
natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environmental-document). 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/ferc-online/elibrary), 
select General Search and enter the docket number in the Docket Number 
field (i.e., CP20-52). 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 EA is not a decision document. It presents Commission staff's 
independent analysis of the environmental issues for the Commission to 
consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this proceeding. 
Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. Your comments should 
focus on the EA's disclosure and discussion of 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 this Project, it 
is important that we receive your comments in Washington, DC on or 
before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 19, 2021.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to file 
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 on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link FERC 
Online. 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 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 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; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP20-
52-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service 
must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, but 
you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered. 
Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of 
the Commission's decision. At this point in this proceeding, the 
timeframe for filing timely intervention requests has expired. Any 
person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion 
to intervene out-of-time pursuant to Rule 214(b)(3) and (d) of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and 
(d)) and show good cause why the time limitation should be waived. 
Motions to intervene are more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides.
    Additional information about the Project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs,

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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 
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 by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to 
the documents. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to 
register for eSubscription.

    Dated: December 17, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-28390 Filed 12-22-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P