[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]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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;
[[Page 15865]]
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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
[[Page 15866]]
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