[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 27 (Thursday, February 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8670-8671]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-02607]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP23-513-000]


Port Arthur Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Louisiana Connector Pipeline 
Amendment

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the 
Louisiana Connector Pipeline Amendment, proposed by Port Arthur 
Pipeline, LLC (PAPL) in the above-referenced docket. PAPL requests 
authorization to make modifications to its previously authorized 
Louisiana Connector Project pipeline, construction footprint, and 
installation methods in 38 locations. The Louisiana Connector Project 
was approved by the Commission on April 18, 2019, in Docket No. CP18-7-
000.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Louisiana Connector Pipeline 
Amendment in accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval 
of the proposed amendment, with appropriate mitigating measures, would 
not constitute a major Federal action significantly affecting the 
quality of the human environment.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers participated as a cooperating 
agency in the preparation of the EA. 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 proposed amended facilities are specific to 38 locations in 
Jefferson County, Texas and Cameron, Calcasieu, Beauregard, and Allen 
Parishes, Louisiana (between milepost 0 and milepost 82.5), as detailed 
below:
     modifications to pipeline routes, construction methods, 
horizontal directional drill (HDD) entry points, and additional 
temporary workspaces to accommodate landowner requests, reduce 
environmental impacts, avoid newly identified non-PAPL pipelines and 
new structures, and allow for safe construction access;
     shifting of pipeline permanent easements to abut other 
existing easements;
     addition and modification of access roads for HDD 
construction and inspection;
     modification of storage and staging areas to utilize areas 
that were recently and permanently impacted by other parties;
     modification of access roads due to obstructions and 
removal of access roads no longer required;
     modification to water approaches to use existing boat 
ramp/dock improvements;
     relocation of mainline valves to facilitate operations and 
maintenance, provide for safer road access, and access to power and 
communication facilities;
     modification of three waterbody crossings methods from 
open cut to an HDD as requested by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers;
     combination, in two locations, of multiple HDDs into a 
single HDD to avoid an open-cut crossing and eliminate an HDD; and
     modification of HDD alignments to avoid conflicts with 
potential future deeper canal depths.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of this 
EA 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 
amended project area. The EA 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 EA 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., 
CP23-513). Be sure you have selected

[[Page 8671]]

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 EA 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 EA may do so. Your comments should 
focus on the EA's disclosure and discussion of potential environmental 
effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen 
environmental impacts. The more specific your comments, the more useful 
they will be. To ensure that the Commission has the opportunity to 
consider your comments prior to making its decision on this amendment, 
it is important that we receive your comments in Washington, DC, on or 
before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 4, 2024.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to file 
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 also file your comments electronically 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.'' You must select the type of filing you are making. If 
you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select 
``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the Commission. Be sure to reference the amended project docket number 
(CP23-513-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal 
Service must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be 
addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, 
but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered. 
Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of 
the Commission's decision. At this point in this proceeding, the 
timeframe for filing timely intervention requests has expired. Any 
person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion 
to intervene out-of-time pursuant to Rule 214(b)(3) and (d) of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and 
(d)) and show good cause why the time limitation should be waived. 
Motions to intervene are more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene.
    Additional information about the amendment 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.
    The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or [email protected].
    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. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to 
register for eSubscription.

    Dated: February 2, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-02607 Filed 2-7-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P