[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 164 (Thursday, August 25, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52378-52379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-18332]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP21-498-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Virginia 
Electrification Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Virginia Electrification Project (Project), proposed by 
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia) in the above-referenced 
docket. Columbia requests authorization to construct and operate 
natural gas facilities in Virginia. The Project is designed to provide 
35,000 dekatherms per day of incremental mainline capacity on 
Columbia's pipeline system. The Project would address a request from 
Columbia Gas of Virginia, an unaffiliated local distribution company, 
for firm transportation service to meet growing energy demand in the 
southeast Virginia market area off of Columbia's existing VM-107, VM-
108, and VM-109 pipelines.
    This 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). 
Columbia's Project facilities include: one zero emission electric motor 
compressor unit at the Boswells Tavern Compressor Station located in 
Louisa County; facility modifications to the Boswells Tavern point of 
receipt located in Louisa County to allow for increased capacity; 
replacement of all five existing gas-powered compressor units at the 
Goochland Compressor Station, located in Goochland County, with new 
units that will run exclusively on electric motors, but will have the 
ability to run on gas in order to ensure reliability; and change the 
status of an existing compressor unit from backup mode to active mode 
and increase the site-rated station horsepower to 5,500 horsepower at 
the Petersburg Compressor Station located in Prince George County. 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 EIS is not 
characterizing the Project's greenhouse gas emissions as significant or 
insignificant because the Commission is conducting a generic proceeding 
to determine whether and how the Commission will conduct significance 
determinations going forward.\1\ The EIS also concludes that no system, 
route, or other alternative would meet the Project objective while 
providing a significant environmental advantage over the Project as 
proposed.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Virginia 
Electrification Project to federal, state, and local government 
representatives and agencies; local libraries; newspapers; elected 
officials; Native American Tribes; and other interested parties. 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 (i.e., CP21-498-000). 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's disclosure and discussion 
of potential environmental effects, measures to avoid or lessen 
environmental impacts and the completeness of the submitted 
alternatives, information, and analyses. 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 October 11, 2022.
    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 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-
498-000) 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, MD 20852.
    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

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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 
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: August 19, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-18332 Filed 8-24-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P