Northwest Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Seattle Lateral Upgrade Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Session, 29068-29070 [2017-13383]
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29068
Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 / Notices
3:30 p.m.–3:45 p.m. Break
3:45 p.m.–5:25 p.m. Panel 3: Options
To Increase Transparency and
Liquidity of Natural Gas Indices
Should action be taken to foster more
meaningful, reliable, and transparent
price information in natural gas
markets? What changes may be
necessary to incent voluntary price
reporting and improve the accuracy,
reliability, and transparency of natural
gas price indices? Discuss the degree to
which the level of voluntary reporting
and other developments within the
commercial service model of natural gas
index development impact the
robustness of natural gas indices.
Panelists are encouraged to respond to
the following:
1. Is there a need to develop industry
wide liquidity thresholds? While the
Commission maintains certain liquidity
thresholds for indices referenced in
jurisdictional tariffs, should standards
be developed that would apply to other
uses of natural gas indices? If so, how
can such standards be developed and by
whom? Can this be addressed through
voluntary consensus or through other
regulatory processes? Are there legal,
commercial, or technical impediments
to doing so?
2. Should the Commission take steps
to provide greater natural gas price
transparency and market information,
promote index developer competition,
and enhance confidence in natural gas
price formation through increased
transparency and accessibility of natural
gas index information? For example,
should the Commission consider
exercising its authority under section
23(a)(1) through (3) of the Natural Gas
Act to require market participants to
report price forming transactions to
index developers?
3. Is index data sufficiently available
and transparent? Does the commercial
service model negatively or positively
impact price formation? What actions,
policies, or trends have impacted price
discovery? Is there additional
information market participants need to
ensure robust natural gas price
formation? Who should provide that
information? How would that
information be shared?
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
Panelists:
• Greg Leonard, Vice President,
Cornerstone Research
• Orlando Alvarez, President and CEO,
BP Energy Company
• Mark Callahan, Editorial Director for
Platts North America, S&P Global
• J.C. Kneale, Vice President of North
American Natural Gas, Power & NGL
Markets, InterContinental Exchange
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• Vince Kaminski, Professor in Practice
of Energy, Rice University
• Curtis Moffatt, Deputy General
Counsel and Vice President, Kinder
Morgan
• Joe Bowring, President, Monitoring
Analytics
• Corey Grindal, Senior Vice President
of Gas Supply, Cheniere Energy
• Tom Haywood, Editor of Natural Gas
Week, Energy Intelligence
• Drew Fossum, Senior Vice President
and General Counsel, Tenaska Inc.
• Joan Dreskin, Vice President and
General Counsel, Interstate Natural
Gas Association of America
5:25 p.m.–5:30 p.m. Closing Remarks
Northwest Pipeline, LLC; Notice of
Intent To Prepare an Environmental
Assessment for the Proposed North
Seattle Lateral Upgrade Project,
Request for Comments on
Environmental Issues, and Notice of
Public Scoping Session
This notice is being sent to the
Commission’s current environmental
mailing list for this project. State and
local government representatives should
notify their constituents of this
proposed project and encourage them to
comment on their areas of concern.
If you are a landowner receiving this
notice, a pipeline company
representative may contact you about
the acquisition of an easement to
construct, operate, and maintain the
proposed facilities. The company would
seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable
agreement. However, if the Commission
approves the project, that approval
conveys with it the right of eminent
domain. Therefore, if easement
negotiations fail to produce an
agreement, the pipeline company could
initiate condemnation proceedings
where compensation would be
determined in accordance with state
law.
Northwest provided landowners with
a fact sheet prepared by the FERC
entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas
Facility On My Land? What Do I Need
To Know?’’ This fact sheet addresses a
number of typically asked questions,
including the use of eminent domain
and how to participate in the
Commission’s proceedings. It is also
available for viewing on the FERC Web
site (www.ferc.gov).
The staff of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an
environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of
the North Seattle Lateral Upgrade
Project involving construction and
operation of facilities by Northwest
Pipeline, LLC (Northwest) in
Snohomish County, Washington. The
Commission will use this EA in its
decision-making process to determine
whether the project is in the public
convenience and necessity.
This notice announces the opening of
the scoping process the Commission
will use to gather input from the public
and interested agencies on the project.
You can make a difference by providing
us with your specific comments or
concerns about the project. Your
comments should focus on the potential
environmental effects, reasonable
alternatives, and measures to avoid or
lessen environmental impacts. Your
input will help the Commission staff
determine what issues they need to
evaluate in the EA. To ensure that your
comments are timely and properly
recorded, please send your comments so
that the Commission receives them in
Washington, DC on or before July 21,
2017.
Public Participation
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 expert staff available
to assist you at (202) 502–8258 or
FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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 Web site
(www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Documents and Filings. This is an easy
method for submitting brief, text-only
comments on a project; or
(2) You can file your comments
electronically by using the eFiling
feature on the Commission’s Web site
(www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Documents and Filings. 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,
[FR Doc. 2017–13391 Filed 6–26–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP17–441–000]
PO 00000
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 / Notices
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
following address. Be sure to reference
the project docket number (CP17–441–
000) with your submission: Kimberly D.
Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
29069
(4) In lieu of sending written or
electronic comments, the Commission
invites you to attend the public scoping
session its staff will conduct in the
project area, scheduled as follows:
Date and time
Location
Thursday, July 13, 2017, 5:00 p.m.–9:00 p.m. PDT ................................
Lynnwood Convention Center, 3711 196th Street SW., Lynnwood, WA
98036, (425) 778–7155.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
The primary goal of these scoping
sessions is to have you identify the
specific environmental issues and
concerns that should be considered in
the EA to be prepared for this project.
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 scoping session is scheduled
from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. PDT. You
may arrive at any time after 5:00 p.m.
There will not be a formal presentation
by Commission staff when the session
opens. If you wish to provide comments
to the court reporter, the Commission
staff will hand out numbers in the order
of your arrival. Comments will be taken
until 9:00 p.m. 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 8:00 p.m. Please see
appendix 1 for additional information
on the session format and conduct.1
Your scoping comments will be
recorded by the court reporter (with
FERC staff present) and become part of
the public record for this proceeding.
Transcripts will be publicly available on
FERC’s eLibrary system (see below for
instructions on using eLibrary). If a
significant number of people are
interested in providing verbal comments
in the one-on-one settings, a time limit
of 3–5 minutes may be implemented for
each commentor.
It is important to note that verbal
comments hold the same weight as
written or electronically submitted
comments. Although there will not be a
formal presentation, Commission staff
will be available throughout the
comment session to answer your
questions about the environmental
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 or from the
Commission’s Public Reference Room, 888 First
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202)
502–8371. For instructions on connecting to
eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:33 Jun 26, 2017
Jkt 241001
review process. Representatives from
Northwest will also be present to
answer project-specific questions.
Please note this is not your only
public input opportunity; please refer to
the review process flow chart in
appendix 2.
Summary of the Proposed Project
Northwest proposes to remove
approximately 6.6 miles of the 8-inchdiameter North Seattle Lateral pipeline
and replace it with 20-inch-diameter
pipeline, primarily in the same trench.
The project is in Snohomish County,
Washington. According to Northwest,
the proposed facilities would increase
service reliability and enable Northwest
to provide an incremental 196,311
dekatherms per day of firm capacity to
serve Puget Sound Energy.
The North Seattle Lateral Upgrade
Project would consist of the following
facilities:
• Replace 6.6-miles of 8-inchdiameter pipeline with 20-inchdiameter pipeline,
• rebuild the existing North Seattle/
Everett meter station in order to
accommodate the increased delivery
capacity of the North Seattle Lateral,
• relocate an existing 8-inch pig
launcher and a 20-inch pig receiver,2
• replace an existing 8-inch mainline
valve with a 20-inch valve.
The general location of the project
facilities is shown in appendix 3.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction activities related to the
Upgrade Project would disturb about
103 acres of land for the pipeline
replacement and aboveground facilities.
The new pipeline would be installed
within Northwest’s existing easement.
Following construction, Northwest
would maintain its existing 48 acres of
easement area for permanent operation
of the project facilities; the remaining 54
acres of construction work space would
be restored and revert to former uses.
The entire existing right-of-way in
which the replacements would be made
2 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.
PO 00000
Frm 00048
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
parallels existing pipeline, utility, or
road rights-of-way.
Alternatives Under Consideration
Northwest is considering two
alternate configurations to the project,
as shown in appendix 4. The first
option, if geotechnical and engineering
studies are favorable, would be to
terminate the 20-inch-diameter pipeline
at milepost 8.4 and place the relocated
pig launcher/receiver at this point, near
Newton Road (see figure 4a), rather than
at milepost 8.9, as currently proposed.
This would shorten the overall length of
the pipeline replacement by
approximately 0.3 mile. A second
alternative is to divert the pipeline off
the existing Northwest easement
between Yew Way and Waverly Drive as
it passes through the Fritch Forest
Products mill facility, in order to avoid
interference with mill operations. This
alternative is depicted in figure 4b.
The EA Process
The National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to
take into account the environmental
impacts that could result from an action
whenever it considers the issuance of a
Certificate of Public Convenience and
Necessity. NEPA also requires us 3 to
discover and address concerns the
public may have about proposals. This
process is referred to as scoping. The
main goal of the scoping process is to
focus the analysis in the EA on the
important environmental issues. By this
notice, the Commission requests public
comments on the scope of the issues to
address in the EA. We will consider all
filed comments during the preparation
of the EA.
In the EA we will discuss impacts that
could occur as a result of the
construction and operation of the
proposed project under these general
headings:
• Geology and soils;
• land use;
• water resources, fisheries, and
wetlands;
• vegetation and wildlife;
3 We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission’s Office of Energy Projects.
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Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 122 / Tuesday, June 27, 2017 / Notices
• endangered and threatened species;
• cultural resources;
• air quality and noise;
• public safety; and
• cumulative impacts.
We will also evaluate reasonable
alternatives to the proposed project or
portions of the project, and make
recommendations on how to lessen or
avoid impacts on the various resource
areas.
The EA will present our independent
analysis of the issues. The EA will be
available in the public record through
eLibrary. Depending on the comments
received during the scoping process, we
may also publish and distribute the EA
to the public for an allotted comment
period. We will consider all comments
on the EA before making our
recommendations to the Commission.
To ensure we have the opportunity to
consider and address your comments,
please carefully follow the instructions
in the Public Participation section,
beginning on page 2 of this Notice.
With this notice, we are asking
agencies with jurisdiction by law and/
or special expertise with respect to the
environmental issues of this project to
formally cooperate with us in the
preparation of the EA.4 Agencies that
would like to request cooperating
agency status should follow the
instructions for filing comments
provided under the Public Participation
section of this notice.
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
Consultations Under Section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act
In accordance with the Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation’s
implementing regulations for section
106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, we are using this
notice to initiate consultation with the
applicable State Historic Preservation
Office (SHPO), and to solicit their views
and those of other government agencies,
interested Indian tribes, and the public
on the project’s potential effects on
historic properties.5 We will define the
project-specific Area of Potential Effects
(APE) in consultation with the SHPO as
the project develops. On natural gas
facility projects, the APE at a minimum
encompasses all areas subject to ground
disturbance (examples include
construction right-of-way, contractor/
4 The Council on Environmental Quality
regulations addressing cooperating agency
responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 1501.6.
5 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s
regulations are at Title 36, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 800. Those regulations define
historic properties as any prehistoric or historic
district, site, building, structure, or object included
in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register
of Historic Places.
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18:33 Jun 26, 2017
Jkt 241001
pipe storage yards, compressor stations,
and access roads). Our EA for this
project will document our findings on
the impacts on historic properties and
summarize the status of consultations
under section 106.
Currently Identified Environmental
Issues
We have already identified two issues
that we think deserve attention based on
a preliminary review of the proposed
facilities and the environmental
information provided by Northwest.
This preliminary list of issues may be
changed based on your comments and
our analysis.
• Effects of construction on
residential properties.
• Impacts on sensitive fish species
during stream construction activities.
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list
includes federal, state, and local
government representatives and
agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest
groups; Native American Tribes; other
interested parties; and local libraries
and newspapers. This list also includes
all affected landowners (as defined in
the Commission’s regulations) who are
potential right-of-way grantors, whose
property may be used temporarily for
project purposes, or who own homes
within certain distances of aboveground
facilities, and anyone who submits
comments on the project. We will
update the environmental mailing list as
the analysis proceeds to ensure that we
send the information related to this
environmental review to all individuals,
organizations, and government entities
interested in and/or potentially affected
by the proposed project.
If we publish and distribute the EA,
copies of the EA will be sent to the
environmental mailing list for public
review and comment. If you would
prefer to receive a paper copy of the
document instead of the CD version or
would like to remove your name from
the mailing list, please return the
attached Information Request (appendix
5).
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA
scoping process, you may want to
become an ‘‘intervenor’’ which is an
official party to the Commission’s
proceeding. Intervenors play a more
formal role in the process and are able
to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be
heard by the courts if they choose to
appeal the Commission’s final ruling.
An intervenor formally participates in
the proceeding by filing a request to
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
intervene. Instructions for becoming an
intervenor are in the ‘‘Document-less
Intervention Guide’’ under the ‘‘e-filing’’
link on the Commission’s Web site.
Motions to intervene are more fully
described at https://www.ferc.gov/
resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.
Additional Information
Additional information about the
project is available from the
Commission’s Office of External Affairs,
at (866) 208–FERC, or on the FERC Web
site at www.ferc.gov using the
‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Click on the eLibrary
link, click on ‘‘General Search’’ and
enter the docket number, excluding the
last three digits in the Docket Number
field (i.e., CP17–441). Be sure you have
selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online
Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov
or toll free at (866) 208–3676, or for
TTY, contact (202) 502–8659. The
eLibrary link also provides access to the
texts of formal documents issued by the
Commission, such as orders, notices,
and rulemakings.
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 www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/esubscription.asp.
Finally, public sessions or site visits
will be posted on the Commission’s
calendar located at www.ferc.gov/
EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along
with other related information.
Dated: June 21, 2017.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017–13383 Filed 6–26–17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Project No. 14822–000]
Merchant Hydro Developers, LLC;
Notice of Preliminary Permit
Application Accepted for Filing and
Soliciting Comments, Motions To
Intervene, and Competing Applications
On January 18, 2017, Merchant Hydro
Developers, LLC, filed an application for
a preliminary permit, pursuant to
section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act
(FPA), proposing to study the feasibility
E:\FR\FM\27JNN1.SGM
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 122 (Tuesday, June 27, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29068-29070]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-13383]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP17-441-000]
Northwest Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Seattle Lateral Upgrade
Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of
Public Scoping Session
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of the North Seattle Lateral Upgrade
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Northwest
Pipeline, LLC (Northwest) in Snohomish County, Washington. The
Commission will use this EA in its decision-making process to determine
whether the project is in the public convenience and necessity.
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested
agencies on the project. You can make a difference by providing us with
your specific comments or concerns about the project. Your comments
should focus on the potential environmental effects, reasonable
alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts.
Your input will help the Commission staff determine what issues they
need to evaluate in the EA. To ensure that your comments are timely and
properly recorded, please send your comments so that the Commission
receives them in Washington, DC on or before July 21, 2017.
This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental
mailing list for this project. State and local government
representatives should notify their constituents of this proposed
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
If you are a landowner receiving this notice, a pipeline company
representative may contact you about the acquisition of an easement to
construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. The company
would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable agreement. However, if
the Commission approves the project, that approval conveys with it the
right of eminent domain. Therefore, if easement negotiations fail to
produce an agreement, the pipeline company could initiate condemnation
proceedings where compensation would be determined in accordance with
state law.
Northwest provided landowners with a fact sheet prepared by the
FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do
I Need To Know?'' This fact sheet addresses a number of typically asked
questions, including the use of eminent domain and how to participate
in the Commission's proceedings. It is also available for viewing on
the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov).
Public Participation
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 expert staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258
or FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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 Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for submitting brief,
text-only comments on a project; or
(2) You can file your comments electronically by using the eFiling
feature on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Documents and Filings. 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,
[[Page 29069]]
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 following address. Be sure to reference the project docket number
(CP17-441-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A,
Washington, DC 20426.
(4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the
Commission invites you to attend the public scoping session its staff
will conduct in the project area, scheduled as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date and time Location
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, July 13, 2017, 5:00 p.m.-9:00 Lynnwood Convention Center,
p.m. PDT. 3711 196th Street SW.,
Lynnwood, WA 98036, (425) 778-
7155.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The primary goal of these scoping sessions is to have you identify
the specific environmental issues and concerns that should be
considered in the EA to be prepared for this project. 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 scoping session is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. PDT.
You may arrive at any time after 5:00 p.m. There will not be a formal
presentation by Commission staff when the session opens. If you wish to
provide comments to the court reporter, the Commission staff will hand
out numbers in the order of your arrival. Comments will be taken until
9:00 p.m. 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 8:00 p.m. Please see appendix
1 for additional information on the session format and conduct.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\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 or from the Commission's
Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426,
or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary,
refer to the last page of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your scoping comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with
FERC staff present) and become part of the public record for this
proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on FERC's eLibrary
system (see below for instructions on using eLibrary). If a significant
number of people are interested in providing verbal comments in the
one-on-one settings, a time limit of 3-5 minutes may be implemented for
each commentor.
It is important to note that verbal comments hold the same weight
as written or electronically submitted comments. 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. Representatives from Northwest will also
be present to answer project-specific questions.
Please note this is not your only public input opportunity; please
refer to the review process flow chart in appendix 2.
Summary of the Proposed Project
Northwest proposes to remove approximately 6.6 miles of the 8-inch-
diameter North Seattle Lateral pipeline and replace it with 20-inch-
diameter pipeline, primarily in the same trench. The project is in
Snohomish County, Washington. According to Northwest, the proposed
facilities would increase service reliability and enable Northwest to
provide an incremental 196,311 dekatherms per day of firm capacity to
serve Puget Sound Energy.
The North Seattle Lateral Upgrade Project would consist of the
following facilities:
Replace 6.6-miles of 8-inch-diameter pipeline with 20-
inch-diameter pipeline,
rebuild the existing North Seattle/Everett meter station
in order to accommodate the increased delivery capacity of the North
Seattle Lateral,
relocate an existing 8-inch pig launcher and a 20-inch pig
receiver,\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
replace an existing 8-inch mainline valve with a 20-inch
valve.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
3.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction activities related to the Upgrade Project would
disturb about 103 acres of land for the pipeline replacement and
aboveground facilities. The new pipeline would be installed within
Northwest's existing easement. Following construction, Northwest would
maintain its existing 48 acres of easement area for permanent operation
of the project facilities; the remaining 54 acres of construction work
space would be restored and revert to former uses. The entire existing
right-of-way in which the replacements would be made parallels existing
pipeline, utility, or road rights-of-way.
Alternatives Under Consideration
Northwest is considering two alternate configurations to the
project, as shown in appendix 4. The first option, if geotechnical and
engineering studies are favorable, would be to terminate the 20-inch-
diameter pipeline at milepost 8.4 and place the relocated pig launcher/
receiver at this point, near Newton Road (see figure 4a), rather than
at milepost 8.9, as currently proposed. This would shorten the overall
length of the pipeline replacement by approximately 0.3 mile. A second
alternative is to divert the pipeline off the existing Northwest
easement between Yew Way and Waverly Drive as it passes through the
Fritch Forest Products mill facility, in order to avoid interference
with mill operations. This alternative is depicted in figure 4b.
The EA Process
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us
\3\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about
proposals. This process is referred to as scoping. The main goal of the
scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. We will
consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EA.
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\3\ We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff of the
Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the construction and operation of the proposed project under these
general headings:
Geology and soils;
land use;
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
vegetation and wildlife;
[[Page 29070]]
endangered and threatened species;
cultural resources;
air quality and noise;
public safety; and
cumulative impacts.
We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed
project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA
will be available in the public record through eLibrary. Depending on
the comments received during the scoping process, we may also publish
and distribute the EA to the public for an allotted comment period. We
will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendations
to the Commission. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and
address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the
Public Participation section, beginning on page 2 of this Notice.
With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law
and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues of
this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the
EA.\4\ Agencies that would like to request cooperating agency status
should follow the instructions for filing comments provided under the
Public Participation section of this notice.
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\4\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 1501.6.
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Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act
In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation
with the applicable State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to
solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested
Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on
historic properties.\5\ We will define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project
develops. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a minimum
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor
stations, and access roads). Our EA for this project will document our
findings on the impacts on historic properties and summarize the status
of consultations under section 106.
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\5\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Those
regulations define historic properties as any prehistoric or
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic
Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified two issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Northwest. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
Effects of construction on residential properties.
Impacts on sensitive fish species during stream
construction activities.
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local
government representatives and agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also
includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's
regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property
may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within
certain distances of aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits
comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list
as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related
to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the
proposed project.
If we publish and distribute the EA, copies of the EA will be sent
to the environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you
would prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD
version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please
return the attached Information Request (appendix 5).
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling.
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are in
the ``Document-less Intervention Guide'' under the ``e-filing'' link on
the Commission's Web site. Motions to intervene are more fully
described at https://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.
Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the
FERC Web site at www.ferc.gov using the ``eLibrary'' link. Click on the
eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket number,
excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field (i.e., CP17-
441). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY,
contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link also provides access to the
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders,
notices, and rulemakings.
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 www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
Finally, public sessions or site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.
Dated: June 21, 2017.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-13383 Filed 6-26-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P