[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 55 (Tuesday, March 22, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16176-16178]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06016]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP22-90-000]


National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation; Notice of Application 
and Establishing Intervention Deadline

    Take notice that on March 10, 2022, National Fuel Gas Distribution 
Corporation (National Fuel Distribution), 6363 Main Street 
Williamsville, NY 14221-5887 filed in the above referenced docket an 
application pursuant to section 7(f) of the Natural Gas Act and Part 
157 of the Commission's regulations requesting that the jurisdictional 
natural gas distribution facilities within its distribution service 
area locations may, without further Commission authorization, be 
enlarged or expanded.
    National Fuel Distribution filed a request for the Commission's 
authorization to have its service area determination under Section 7(f) 
of the NGA amended and enlarged to allow it to operate a minimal amount 
of

[[Page 16177]]

residential service piping across Erie County, Pennsylvania to 
Chautauqua County, New York border in order to distribute and deliver 
natural gas to a small number of Pennsylvania retail customers whose 
residences lie in close proximity to the Pennsylvania/New York border. 
National Fuel Distribution also requests a finding that qualifies for 
treatment as an LDC for purposes of Section 311 of the Natural Gas 
Policy Act and a waiver of various Commission requirements as 
appropriate and consistent with the requested determination.
    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 concerning this application should be directed to 
Jeffrey B. Same, Esq. Senior Attorney, National Fuel Gas Distribution 
Corporation, 6363 Main Street Williamsville, NY 14221-5887; by phone 
(716) 857-7507; or by email: [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 three ways to become involved in the Commission's review 
of this project: You can file a protest to the project, you can file a 
motion to intervene in the proceeding, and you can file comments on the 
project. There is no fee or cost for filing protests, motions to 
intervene, or comments. The deadline for filing protests, motions to 
intervene, and comments is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on April 5, 2022. How 
to file protests, motions to intervene, and comments is explained 
below.

Protests

    Pursuant to section 157.205 of the Commission's regulations under 
the NGA,\2\ any person \3\ or the Commission's staff may file a protest 
to the request. If no protest is filed within the time allowed or if a 
protest is filed and then withdrawn within 30 days after the allowed 
time for filing a protest, the proposed activity shall be deemed to be 
authorized effective the day after the time allowed for protest. If a 
protest is filed and not withdrawn within 30 days after the time 
allowed for filing a protest, the instant request for authorization 
will be considered by the Commission.
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    \2\ 18 CFR 157.205.
    \3\ Persons include individuals, organizations, businesses, 
municipalities, and other entities. 18 CFR 385.102(d).
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    Protests must comply with the requirements specified in section 
157.205(e) of the Commission's regulations,\4\ and must be submitted by 
the protest deadline, which is April 5, 2022. A protest may also serve 
as a motion to intervene so long as the protestor states it also seeks 
to be an intervenor.
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    \4\ 18 CFR 157.205(e).
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Interventions

    Any person 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.
    To intervene, you must submit a motion to intervene to the 
Commission in accordance with Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedure \5\ and the regulations under the NGA \6\ by the 
intervention deadline for the project, which April 5, 2022. As 
described further in Rule 214, your motion to intervene must state, to 
the extent known, your position regarding the proceeding, as well as 
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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    \5\ 18 CFR 385.214.
    \6\ 18 CFR 157.10.
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    All timely, unopposed motions to intervene are automatically 
granted by operation of Rule 214(c)(1). 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. 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.

Comments

    Any person wishing to comment on the project may do so. The 
Commission considers all comments received about the project in 
determining the appropriate action to be taken. To ensure that your 
comments are timely and properly recorded, please submit your comments 
on or before April 5, 2022. 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.

How to File Protests, Interventions, and Comments

    There are two ways to submit protests, motions to intervene, and 
comments. In both instances, please reference the Project docket number 
CP22-90-000 in your submission.
    (1) You may file your protest, motion to intervene, and comments 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

[[Page 16178]]

select ``Protest'', ``Intervention'', or ``Comment on a Filing''; or 
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    \7\ Additionally, 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.
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    (2) You can file a paper copy of your submission by mailing it to 
the address below. Your submission must reference the Project docket 
number CP22-90-000.
    To mail via USPS, use the following address:

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426

    To mail via any other courier, use the following address:

Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852

    The Commission encourages electronic filing of submissions (option 
1 above) and has eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 502-
8258 or [email protected].
    Protests and motions to intervene must be served on the applicant 
either by mail or email (with a link to the document) at: Jeffrey B. 
Same, Esq. Senior Attorney National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation, 
6363 Main Street Williamsville, NY 14221-5887; by phone (716) 857-7507; 
or by email: [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.

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 https://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.

    Dated: March 16, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-06016 Filed 3-21-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P