[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 106 (Friday, May 31, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47144-47146]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11999]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP23-516-000; CP23-516-001]


East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Ridgeline 
Expansion Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Ridgeline Expansion Project (Project), proposed by East 
Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC (East Tennessee) in the above-referenced 
docket. East Tennessee requests authorization to construct and operate 
122.2 miles of 30-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline and associated 
facilities in Trousdale, Smith, Jackson, Putnam, Overton, Fentress, 
Morgan, and Roane Counties, Tennessee. The purpose of the Project is to 
provide about 300,000 dekatherms per day of new firm natural gas 
transportation capacity and up to 95,000 dekatherms of customized 
delivery service (i.e., parking capability) from multiple providers to 
the site of Tennessee Valley Authority's Kingston Fossil 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 would have some 
limited adverse environmental effects; however, with implementation of 
the mitigation measures recommended in

[[Page 47145]]

the EIS, these effects would be avoided, mitigated, or reduced to less-
than-significant levels.
    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National 
Park Service 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 the 
proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. The USACE will adopt and 
use the EIS to consider the issuance of an Individual Permit under 
section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Although the USACE provided input 
to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the 
USACE will present its own conclusions and recommendations in its 
Record of Decision for the Project. A copy of the USACE Nashville 
District's Public Notice is included as appendix 1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary.'' For instructions on 
connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice. For 
assistance, contact FERC at [email protected] or call toll 
free, (886) 208-3676 or TTY (202) 502-8659.
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    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following Project facilities, all in 
the state of Tennessee:
     122.2 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline in Trousdale, 
Smith, Jackson, Putnam, Overton, Fentress, Morgan, and Roane Counties, 
including 4.0 miles of header pipeline and 118.2 miles of mainline 
pipeline (collectively referred to as the Mainline);
     a new 14,600-horsepower, electric-driven compressor 
station (Hartsville Compressor Station) and an associated solar array 
to partially power the facility in Trousdale County;
     a new meter and regulating station to receive gas from 
Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC in Trousdale County;
     modifications to two existing meter and regulating 
stations to receive gas from Texas Eastern Transmission, LP and 
Midwestern Gas Transmission Company in Trousdale County;
     a new delivery meter station to measure gas delivered to 
the Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County; and
     related appurtenances.
    East Tennessee also proposes to remove approximately 24 miles of 
previously abandoned-in-place pipe segments along East Tennessee's 
existing 22-inch-diameter Line 3100-1 associated with various prior 
pipeline replacement projects. East Tennessee would relay the new 30-
inch-diameter Mainline pipe into the same trench.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability to 
federal and state resources agencies, elected officials, environmental 
groups and non-governmental organizations, Native American Tribes, 
potentially affected landowners, local libraries and newspapers, and 
other stakeholders. The draft EIS is only available in electronic 
format. It may be viewed and downloaded from 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 draft EIS may be accessed by 
using the eLibrary link on 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., CP23-516). 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's disclosure and discussion 
of potential environmental effects, measures to avoid or lessen 
environmental impacts, and the completeness of the submitted 
alternatives, information, and analyses. In addition, landowner 
comments are encouraged on the site-specific construction plans that 
East Tennessee developed for residences within 25 feet of construction 
work areas, provided in appendix J of the draft EIS. 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 July 15, 2024.
    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 verbally. 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 file your comments electronically by 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.'' 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 (CP23-
516) 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.
    (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 in the project area to receive comments on the draft 
EIS, scheduled as follows:

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             Date and time                           Location
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Tuesday, June 11, 2024: 6:00 to 8:00     Kingston Community Center, 201
 p.m. EDT.                                Patton Ferry Road, Kingston,
                                          TN 37763, (865) 376-1356.
Wednesday, June 12, 2024: 6:00 to 8:00   Cookeville High School, 1
 p.m. CDT.                                Cavalier Drive, Cookeville, TN
                                          38501, (931) 520-2287.

[[Page 47146]]

 
Thursday, June 13, 2024: 6:00 to 8:00    Trousdale Community Center, 301
 p.m. CDT.                                E Main Street, Hartsville, TN
                                          37074, (615) 374-9574.
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    The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify 
the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS. 
Individual verbal comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a 
court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount 
of verbal comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.
    Each comment session is scheduled from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. You 
may arrive at any time after 6:00 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 the end times listed above. 
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 appendix 2 
for additional information on the session format and conduct.
    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 and 3 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 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 orally 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 part 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.
    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 that 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: May 24, 2024.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-11999 Filed 5-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P