[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 19 (Monday, February 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7719-7720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-02098]



[[Page 7719]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP21-28-000]


Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Application and 
Establishing Intervention Deadline

    Take notice that on January 13, 2021, Northern Natural Gas Company 
(Northern), 1111 South 103rd Street Omaha, NE 68124-1000, filed an 
application under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), and Part 
157 of the Commission's regulations requesting authorization to: (1) 
Establish a buffer zone around the storage facility; (2) designate five 
geological formations as gas-containing vertical buffer zones; and (3) 
to recognize the inclusion of the Lower Eau Claire formation into the 
geologically continuous Mt. Simon A zone of the Mt. Simon gas storage 
reservoir, all at the Redfield storage facility located in Dallas 
County, Iowa. Northern seeks authorization for the establishment of a 
buffer zone approximately one-half mile around the mapped gas extent 
consisting of approximately 4,847 acres. Northern also seeks authority 
to establish five geological formations that are currently non-storage 
formations as buffer formations: The Prairie Du Chien formation; the 
Franconia formation; the Decorah-Platteville formation; the Fort 
Atkinson formation; and the Gower 2 formation. The proposed changes 
will not change the certificated physical parameters, including the 
certificated storage capacity, of the Field. No new aboveground 
facilities will be required for the authorities sought herein, all as 
more fully set forth in the request which is on file with the 
Commission and open to public inspection.
    In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://ferc.gov) using the 
``eLibrary'' link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the docket number field to access the document. At this time, 
the Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public 
Reference Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency 
concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the 
President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission at [email protected] or call toll-free, 
(886) 208-3676 or TYY, (202) 502-8659.
    Any questions regarding the proposed project should be directed to 
Michael T. Loeffler, Certificates and External Affairs, Northern 
Natural Gas Company, P.O. Box 3330, Omaha, NE 68103-0330, by phone at 
(402) 398-7103, or by email at [email protected].
    Pursuant to section 157.9 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure,\1\ within 90 days of this Notice the Commission staff will 
either: Complete its environmental review and place it into the 
Commission's public record (eLibrary) for this proceeding; or issue a 
Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review. If a Notice of Schedule 
for Environmental Review is issued, it will indicate, among other 
milestones, the anticipated date for the Commission staff's issuance of 
the final environmental impact statement (FEIS) or environmental 
assessment (EA) for this proposal. The filing of an EA in the 
Commission's public record for this proceeding or the issuance of a 
Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review will serve to notify 
federal and state agencies of the timing for the completion of all 
necessary reviews, and the subsequent need to complete all federal 
authorizations within 90 days of the date of issuance of the Commission 
staff's FEIS or EA.
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    \1\ 18 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 157.9.
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Public Participation

    There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of 
this project: You can file comments on the project, and you can file a 
motion to intervene in the proceeding. There is no fee or cost for 
filing comments or intervening. The deadline for filing a motion to 
intervene is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on [February 16, 2021].

Comments

    Any person wishing to comment on the project may do so. Comments 
may include statements of support or objections to the project as a 
whole or specific aspects of the project. The more specific your 
comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your comments 
are timely and properly recorded, please submit your comments on or 
before [February 16, 2021].
    There are three methods you can use to submit your comments to the 
Commission. In all instances, please reference the Project docket 
number CP21-28-000 in your submission.
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's website at www.ferc.gov 
under the link to Documents and Filings. Using eComment is an easy 
method for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a 
project;
    (2) You may 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; first select ``General'' and then select ``Comment on a 
Filing''; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the following address below.\2\ Your written comments must reference 
the Project docket number (CP21-28-000).
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    \2\ Hand delivered submissions in docketed proceedings should be 
delivered to Health and Human Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
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    Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments (options 1 
and 2 above) and has eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 
502-8258 or [email protected].
    Persons who comment on the environmental review of this project 
will be placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list and will 
receive notification when the environmental documents (EA or EIS) are 
issued for this project and will be notified of meetings associated 
with the Commission's environmental review process.
    The Commission considers all comments received about the project in 
determining the appropriate action to be taken. However, the filing of 
a comment alone will not serve to make the filer a party to the 
proceeding. To become a party, you must intervene in the proceeding. 
For instructions on how to intervene, see below.

Interventions

    Any person, which includes individuals, organizations, businesses, 
municipalities, and other entities,\3\ has the option to file a motion 
to intervene in this proceeding. Only intervenors have the right to 
request rehearing of Commission orders issued in this proceeding and to 
subsequently challenge the Commission's orders in the U.S. Circuit 
Courts of Appeal.
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    \3\ 18 CFR 385.102(d).
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    To intervene, you must submit a motion to intervene to the 
Commission

[[Page 7720]]

in accordance with Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure \4\ and the regulations under the NGA \5\ by the intervention 
deadline for the project, which is [February 16, 2021]. As described 
further in Rule 214, your motion to intervene must state, to the extent 
known, your position regarding the proceeding, as well as the your 
interest in the proceeding. [For an individual, this could include your 
status as a landowner, ratepayer, resident of an impacted community, or 
recreationist. You do not need to have property directly impacted by 
the project in order to intervene.] For more information about motions 
to intervene, refer to the FERC website at https://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.
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    \4\ 18 CFR 385.214.
    \5\ 18 CFR 157.10.
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    There are two ways to submit your motion to intervene. In both 
instances, please reference the Project docket number CP21-28-000 in 
your submission.
    (1) You may file your motion to intervene by using the Commission's 
eFiling feature, which is located on the Commission's website 
(www.ferc.gov) under the link to Documents and Filings. 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; first select 
``General'' and then select ``Intervention.'' The eFiling feature 
includes a document-less intervention option; for more information, 
visit https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling/document-less-intervention.pdf.; or
    (2) You can file a paper copy of your motion to intervene, along 
with three copies, by mailing the documents to the address below.\6\ 
Your motion to intervene must reference the Project docket number CP21-
28-000.
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    \6\ Hand delivered submissions in docketed proceedings should be 
delivered to Health and Human Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852.
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    Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
    The Commission encourages electronic filing of motions to intervene 
(option 1 above) and has eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 
502-8258 or [email protected].
    Motions to intervene must be served on the applicant either by mail 
or email at: P.O. Box 3330, Omaha, NE 68103-0330 or 
[email protected]. Any subsequent submissions by an intervenor 
must be served on the applicant and all other parties to the 
proceeding. Contact information for parties can be downloaded from the 
service list at the eService link on FERC Online. Service can be via 
email with a link to the document.
    All timely, unopposed \7\ motions to intervene are automatically 
granted by operation of Rule 214(c)(1).\8\ Motions to intervene that 
are filed after the intervention deadline are untimely and may be 
denied. Any late-filed motion to intervene must show good cause for 
being late and must explain why the time limitation should be waived 
and provide justification by reference to factors set forth in Rule 
214(d) of the Commission's Rules and Regulations.\9\ A person obtaining 
party status will be placed on the service list maintained by the 
Secretary of the Commission and will receive copies (paper or 
electronic) of all documents filed by the applicant and by all other 
parties.
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    \7\ The applicant has 15 days from the submittal of a motion to 
intervene to file a written objection to the intervention.
    \8\ 18 CFR 385.214(c)(1).
    \9\ 18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and (d).
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Tracking the Proceeding

    Throughout the proceeding, additional information about the project 
will be 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 as described above. 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. For more information and to register, go to 
www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
    Intervention Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on [February 16, 
2021].

    Dated: January 26, 2021.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-02098 Filed 1-29-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P