[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 8, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12950-12952]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-04871]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP21-94-000]


Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC; Notice of 
Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Proposed Regional Energy Access Expansion

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Regional Energy Access Expansion (Project), proposed by 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco) in the above-
referenced docket. Transco requests authorization to construct and 
operate approximately 36.1 miles of pipeline loop \1\ and one new 
compressor station, abandon and replace certain existing compression 
facilities, and modify existing compressor stations and facilities in 
Pennsylvania and New Jersey to provide about 829 million standard cubic 
feet of natural gas per day to multiple delivery points along Transco's 
existing system in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, providing 
customers with enhanced access to Marcellus and Utica Shale natural gas 
supplies.
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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 draft EIS 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 the 
mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would result in some 
adverse environmental impacts; however, with the exception of climate 
change impacts, those impacts would not be significant. The Project's 
annual operation and downstream emissions of 16.62 million metric tons 
of carbon dioxide equivalent would exceed the Commission's presumptive 
significance threshold based on 100 percent utilization.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of 
the EIS. 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 EIS is intended to 
fulfill the cooperating federal agencies' NEPA obligations, as 
applicable, and to support subsequent conclusions and decisions made by 
the cooperating agencies. Although cooperating agencies provide input 
to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the 
agencies may present their own conclusions and recommendations in any 
applicable Records of Decision for the Project.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following Project facilities:
     Installation of 22.3 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline 
loop in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (Regional Energy Lateral);
     installation of 13.8 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline 
loop in Monroe County, Pennsylvania (Effort Loop);
     installation of the new Compressor Station 201 (9,000 
nominal horsepower [hp] at International Organization of 
Standardization [ISO] conditions) in Gloucester County, New Jersey);
     installation of two gas turbine driven compressor units 
(31,800 nominal hp at ISO conditions) at existing Compressor Station 
505 in Somerset County, New Jersey to accommodate the abandonment and 
replacement of approximately 16,000 hp from eight existing internal 
combustion engine-driven compressor units and increase the certificated 
station compression by 15,800 hp;
     installation of a gas turbine compressor unit (63,742 
nominal hp at ISO conditions) and modifications to three existing 
compressors at existing Compressor Station 515 in Luzerne County, 
Pennsylvania to accommodate the abandonment and replacement of 
approximately 17,000 hp from five existing gas-fired reciprocating 
engine driven compressors and increase the certificated station 
compression by 46,742 hp;
     uprate and rewheel two existing electric motor-driven 
compressor units at existing Compressor Station 195 in York County, 
Pennsylvania to increase the certificated station compression by 5,000 
hp and accommodate the abandonment of two existing gas-fired 
reciprocating engine driven compressors, which total approximately 
8,000 hp;
     modifications at existing compressor stations, meter 
stations, interconnects, and ancillary facilities in Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, and Maryland; and
     installation of ancillary facilities such as mainline 
valves,

[[Page 12951]]

communication facilities, and pig launchers \2\ and receivers.
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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 Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
draft EIS 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 
Project area. The draft EIS is only available in electronic format. It 
may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on 
the natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents). In 
addition, the draft EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on 
the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search) select ``General Search'' and enter 
the docket number in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the last 
three digits (i.e., CP21-94). 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 draft EIS 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 draft EIS may do so. 
Your comments should focus on the draft EIS' disclosure and discussion 
of potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. To ensure 
consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is 
important that the Commission receive your comments on or before 5:00 
p.m. Eastern Time on April 25, 2022.
    For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided orally. 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 to 
FERC Online. This 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 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.'' 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 Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP21-
94-000) 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.
    (4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the 
Commission invites you to attend one of the virtual public comment 
sessions its staff will conduct by telephone to receive comments on the 
draft EIS, scheduled as follows:

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                              Date and time
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 Monday, March 28, 2022, 6:00-8:00 p.m. (EST), Call in number: 800-779-
 8625, Participant Passcode: 3472916.
 Tuesday, March 29, 2022, 12:00-2:00 p.m. (EST), Call in number: 888-848-
 6716, Participant Passcode: 4258437.
 Wednesday, March 30, 2022, 6:00-8:00 p.m. (EST), Call in number: 800-
 779-8625, Participant Passcode: 3472916.
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    The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify 
the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS. 
There will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the 
session opens. Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one 
basis with a court reporter present on the line. This format is 
designed to receive the maximum amount of oral comments, in a 
convenient way during the timeframe allotted, and is in response to the 
ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Prospective commentors are encouraged to 
review the draft EIS to familiarize themselves with the Project prior 
to participating in the meeting.
    Each comment session is scheduled from either 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. or 
else 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 2:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time. You may 
call at any time after the listed start times, at which point you will 
be placed on mute and hold. Calls will be answered in the order they 
are received. Once answered, you will have the opportunity to provide 
your comment directly to a court reporter with FERC staff or 
representative present on the line. A time limit of 3 minutes will be 
implemented for each commentor.
    Transcripts of all comments received during the comment sessions 
will be publicly available on FERC's eLibrary system (see page 2 of 
this notice for instructions on using eLibrary).
    It is important to note that the Commission provides equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided at a virtual comment session.
    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 part 385.214). Motions to intervene are 
more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene. Only 
intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of the 
Commission's decision. The Commission grants 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.

Questions?

    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. 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 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 by automatically providing you with

[[Page 12952]]

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: March 2, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-04871 Filed 3-7-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P