[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 84 (Tuesday, April 30, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34229-34230]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09200]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP23-87-001]


WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Request for Extension of 
Time

    Take notice that on April 11, 2024, WBI Energy Transmission, Inc. 
(WBI Energy) requested that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission) grant an extension of time, until October 1, 2024, to 
construct and place into service its Line Section 15 Expansion Project 
(Project) located in Butte, Lawrence, Meade, and Pennington Counties, 
South Dakota. On March 14, 2023, the Commission issued a Notice of 
Request Under Blanket Authorization, which established a 60-day comment 
period, ending on May 15, 2023, to file protests. No protests were 
filed during the comment period, and accordingly the project was 
authorized on May 15, 2023 and by Rule should have been completed 
within one year.
    In its 2023 Extension of Time Request, WBI Energy states that it 
will not be able to complete all the work associated with the Project 
by the May 15, 2024, deadline. As of November 12, 2023, the 
commissioning of all Project facilities was complete except for 
remaining work on the 500-foot Yellow Mainline Extension from the 
existing Krebs Station to the new Krebs Station.\1\ At that time, 
Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. (Montana-Dakota), a Project shipper, had 
yet to complete its required work downstream of the new Krebs Station 
and WBI Energy utilized a minor temporary pipeline reconfiguration to 
allow natural gas to continue to flow to the existing Krebs Station as 
reported in the weekly construction reports. Currently, Montana-Dakota 
is scheduled to complete its required work downstream of the new Krebs 
Station by the end of August 2024. After Montana-Dakota completes its 
work, WBI Energy can finish the remaining work on the Yellow Mainline 
Extension and complete necessary tie-ins to deliver gas to Montana-
Dakota through the new Krebs Station. Accordingly, WBI Energy requests 
an extension of time until October 1, 2024, to complete construction of 
project facilities and

[[Page 34230]]

begin providing service to Montana-Dakota through the new Krebs 
Station.
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    \1\ WBI Energy is reporting in its weekly construction reports 
that the extensions of the Red and Yellow Mainlines at the Krebs 
Station are 98 percent complete with the remaining 2 percent of work 
associated with the Yellow Mainline Extension.
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    This notice establishes a 15-calendar day intervention and comment 
period deadline. Any person wishing to comment on WBI Energy's request 
for an extension of time may do so. No reply comments or answers will 
be considered. If you wish to obtain legal status by becoming a party 
to the proceedings for this request, you should, on or before the 
comment date stated below, file a motion to intervene in accordance 
with the requirements of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the Regulations under the 
Natural Gas Act (NGA) (18 CFR 157.10).
    As a matter of practice, the Commission itself generally acts on 
requests for extensions of time to complete construction for NGA 
facilities when such requests are contested before order issuance. For 
those extension requests that are contested,\2\ the Commission will aim 
to issue an order acting on the request within 45 days.\3\ The 
Commission will address all arguments relating to whether the applicant 
has demonstrated there is good cause to grant the extension.\4\ The 
Commission will not consider arguments that re-litigate the issuance of 
the certificate order, including whether the Commission properly found 
the project to be in the public convenience and necessity and whether 
the Commission's environmental analysis for the certificate complied 
with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).\5\ At the time a 
pipeline requests an extension of time, orders on certificates of 
public convenience and necessity are final and the Commission will not 
re-litigate their issuance.\6\ The Director of the Office of Energy 
Projects, or his or her designee, will act on all of those extension 
requests that are uncontested.
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    \2\ Contested proceedings are those where an intervenor disputes 
any material issue of the filing. 18 CFR 385.2201(c)(1).
    \3\ Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC ] 61,144, at P 40 
(2020).
    \4\ Id. at P 40.
    \5\ Similarly, the Commission will not re-litigate the issuance 
of an NGA section 3 authorization, including whether a proposed 
project is not inconsistent with the public interest and whether the 
Commission's environmental analysis for the permit order complied 
with NEPA.
    \6\ Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC ] 61,144, at P 40 
(2020).
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    In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the 
Federal Register, the Commission provides all interested persons an 
opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the 
internet through the Commission's Home Page (http://www.ferc.gov). From 
the Commission's Home Page on the internet, this information is 
available on eLibrary. The full text of this document is available on 
eLibrary in PDF and Microsoft Word format for viewing, printing, and/or 
downloading. To access this document in eLibrary, type the docket 
number excluding the last three digits of this document in the docket 
number field.
    User assistance is available for eLibrary and the Commission's 
website during normal business hours from FERC Online Support at 202-
502-6652 (toll free at 1-866-208-3676) or email at 
[email protected], or the Public Reference Room at (202) 502-
8371, TTY (202) 502-8659. Email the Public Reference Room at 
[email protected].
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings of comments 
in lieu of paper using the ``eFile'' link at http://www.ferc.gov. In 
lieu of electronic filing, you may submit a paper copy which must 
reference the Project docket number.
    To file via USPS: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 
20426.
    To file via any other courier: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 
Rockville, Maryland 20852.

    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].
    Comment Date: 5 p.m. eastern time on May 8, 2024.

    Dated: April 23, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-09200 Filed 4-29-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P