[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 27 (Thursday, February 9, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8417-8418]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02748]



[[Page 8417]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP22-493-000]


Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Availability of 
the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Cumberland 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 
for the Cumberland Project (Project), proposed by Tennessee Gas 
Pipeline Company, LLC (Tennessee) in the above-referenced docket. 
Tennessee requests a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to 
construct, operate, and maintain certain natural gas transmission 
pipeline and facilities in Dickson, Houston, and Stewart Counties, 
Tennessee. The Project purpose is to provide up to 245,040 dekatherms 
per day of new firm transportation service to the Tennessee Valley 
Authority's (TVA) Cumberland Natural Gas Combined Cycle Power Plant.
    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. Most of these impacts would be temporary 
and occur during construction (e.g., impacts on wetlands, land use, 
traffic, and noise). Except for climate change impacts that are not 
characterized in the EIS as significant or insignificant, Commission 
staff conclude that project effects would not be significant. As part 
of the analysis, Commission staff developed specific mitigation 
measures (included in the draft EIS as recommendations). Staff 
recommend that these mitigation measures be attached as conditions to 
any authorization issued by the Commission.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency 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 
a proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. Although both agencies 
provided input to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the 
draft EIS, each agency may present its own conclusions and 
recommendations in any applicable Records of Decision or other 
documentation for the Project.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following Project facilities, all in 
the state of Tennessee:
     Cumberland Pipeline: Construction of approximately 32 
miles of new 30-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline, which would connect 
at Tennessee's existing Line 100-3 and Line 100-4. The Cumberland 
Pipeline would be located in Dickson, Houston, and Stewart Counties.
     Pressure Regulation Station: Construction of two new bi-
directional back pressure regulation facilities on Line 100-3 and Line 
100-4, at milepost 0.0 of the proposed new Cumberland Pipeline in 
Dickson County.
     Cumberland Meter Station: Construction of a new meter 
station at the terminus of the Cumberland Pipeline, located within 
TVA's property in Stewart County.
     Launcher and Receiver: Construction of in-line inspection 
traps, for in-line inspection tools at each end of the Cumberland 
Pipeline.
     Mainline Valves: Construction of three new mainline 
valves. One would be installed at an intermediate location along the 
Cumberland Pipeline, and the remaining two would be on Tennessee's Line 
100-3 and Line 100-4 within the new Pressure Regulation Station.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Cumberland 
Project 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 website (https://ferc.gov/), 
on the natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environmental-overview/environmental-documents-2023). In addition, the draft EIS may be accessed using the 
eLibrary link on the FERC 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., CP22-493). 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, 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 
March 27, 2023.
    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 (https://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 (https://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 (CP22-
493-000) 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

[[Page 8418]]

Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 
20852.
    (4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the 
Commission invites you to attend one of the public comment sessions its 
staff will conduct to receive comments on the draft EIS, scheduled as 
follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
           Date                     Time                 Location
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2/21/2023.................  5:00-8:00 p.m.       Events on Main, 105 S
                             Central Standard     Main Street, Dickson,
                             Time.                TN 37055, (615) 202-
                                                  3453.
2/22/2023.................  5:00-8:00 p.m.       Cumberland City Fire
                             Central Standard     Hall, 121 Main Street,
                             Time.                Cumberland City, TN
                                                  37050, (931) 627-4610.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify 
the specific environmental issues and concerns regarding the draft EIS. 
Individual oral comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a 
court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount 
of oral comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.
    Each comment session is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 
Central Standard Time. You may arrive at any time after 5:00 p.m. There 
will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the session 
opens. If you wish to speak, the Commission staff will hand out numbers 
in the order of your arrival. Comments will be taken until 8:00 p.m. 
However, if no additional numbers have been handed out and all 
individuals who wish to provide comments have had an opportunity to do 
so, staff may conclude the session at 7:30 p.m. Please see attachment 1 
for additional information on the session format and conduct.\1\
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    \1\ The attachment referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. A copy of the attachment was sent to all those 
receiving this notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov 
using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the Commission's Public 
Reference Room, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, or call 
(202) 502-8371.
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    Your oral comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with 
FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public 
record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on 
FERC's eLibrary system (see page 2 for instructions on using eLibrary). 
If a significant number of people are interested in providing oral 
comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be 
implemented for each commentor. Although there will not be a formal 
presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the comment 
session to answer your questions about the environmental review 
process.
    It is important to note that the Commission provides equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided at a 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 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 the 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: February 3, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-02748 Filed 2-8-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P