[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 5, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15864-15866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-04536]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP23-535-000]


WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed South Spearfish Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the South 
Spearfish Project proposed by WBI Energy Transmission, Inc. (WBI 
Energy) in the above-referenced docket. WBI Energy requests 
authorization to construct, uprate, modify operate, and abandon natural 
gas facilities in Lawrence County, South Dakota. The proposed project 
activities include:
     remove an existing pressure regulation and overpressure 
protection equipment and the valve setting for the Deadwood-Central 
City Lateral on Line Section 15;

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     increase the maximum allowable operating pressure of the 
8-inch-diameter Deadwood-Central City Lateral from the Deadwood 
Mainline Transfer Station to the proposed South Spearfish Station from 
200 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) to 470 psig;
     install two pig launcher/receivers; \1\
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    \1\ 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. A pig launcher/
receiver are facilities where pigs are inserted/retrieved from the 
pipeline.
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     construct a new South Spearfish Station adjacent to the 
existing South Spearfish Lateral Takeoff Valve Setting;
     relocate approximately 500 feet of the South Spearfish 
Lateral; and
     abandon by sale to Montana-Dakota Utilities Company the 
existing 5.5-mile-long 4-inch-diameter South Spearfish Lateral and 
certain equipment at the existing South Spearfish Town Border Station.
    The proposed project would allow for the redirection of incremental 
firm transportation capacity from WBI Energy's existing Line Section 15 
in western South Dakota to meet the natural gas needs of shippers in 
the Black Hills region of western South Dakota, including Montana-
Dakota Utilities Company.\2\
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    \2\ Under Docket CP23-87-000, WBI Energy was authorized to 
modify its Line Section 15 in Butte, Lawrence, Meade, and Pennington 
Counties, South Dakota in order to provide 15,000 dekatherms per day 
to Montana-Dakota Utilities Company for 10 years. The instant 
project would allow for this existing capacity to be directed to the 
proposed South Spearfish Station.
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    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the South Spearfish Project in accordance 
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The 
FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, with 
appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal 
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
EA to federal, state, and local government representatives and 
agencies; elected officials; Native American Tribes; potentially 
affected landowners and other interested individuals and groups; and 
libraries in the 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 (i.e., CP23-
535). 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 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 project, it 
is important that we receive your comments in Washington, DC on or 
before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 27, 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.
     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;
     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
     You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them 
to the Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number 
(CP23-535-000) 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, Maryland 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 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.
    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.


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    Dated: February 27, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-04536 Filed 3-4-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P