Trans-Pecos Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Presidio Border Crossing Project Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, 45522-45524 [2015-18680]
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45522
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 146 / Thursday, July 30, 2015 / Notices
agency status should follow the
instructions for filing comments
provided in the Public Participation
section of this notice. Currently, the
U.S. Department of Energy, U.S.
Department of Transportation, U.S.
Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers have expressed their
intention to participate as cooperating
agencies in the preparation of the EIS.
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
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.4 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 area, contractor storage
yards, and access roads). Our EIS for
this Project will document our findings
on the impacts on historic properties
and summarize the status of
consultations under Section 106.
Lhorne on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Currently Identified Environmental
Issues
We have identified several issues
based on a preliminary review of the
planned facilities and the
environmental information provided by
Texas LNG that we think deserves
attention. This preliminary list of issues
may be changed based on your
comments and our continued analysis.
The issues identified to date include:
• Potential impacts on water quality;
• potential impact on fisheries and
aquatic resources;
• potential impact on federally listed
endangered and threatened species;
• visual effects on surrounding areas,
including Port Isabel, Laguna Vista, and
South Padre Island;
• potential impacts on tourism and
recreational and commercial fisheries,
4 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
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
for Historic Places.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:54 Jul 29, 2015
Jkt 235001
including eco-tourism and the local
shrimp fishery;
• potential for disproportionate
impact on lower income communities;
• potential impacts on air quality,
and associated impacts on human
health and local agricultural areas;
• public safety and hazards
associated with the transport of natural
gas and LNG; and
• cumulative impacts from
construction and operation of multiple
LNG facilities within the Port of
Brownsville, and from the Brownsville
Ship Channel deepening project.
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
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. Staff will
update the environmental mailing list as
the analysis proceeds to ensure that it
sends the information related to this
environmental review to all individuals,
organizations, and government entities
interested in and/or potentially affected
by the planned Project.
Copies of the completed draft EIS 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 3).
Becoming an Intervenor
Once Texas LNG files its application
with the Commission, 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
(https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling/
document-less-intervention.pdf).
Motions to intervene are more fully
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
described at https://www.ferc.gov/
resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.
Please note that the Commission will
not accept requests for intervenor status
at this time. You must wait until the
Commission receives a formal
application for the Project.
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 (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., PF15–
14). 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/
esubscribenow.htm.
FERC public meetings or site visits
will be posted on the Commission’s
calendar located at www.ferc.gov/
EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along
with other related information.
Finally, Texas LNG has established a
Web site at www.txlng.com with further
information about its planned Project.
Dated: July 23, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–18682 Filed 7–29–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP15–500–000]
Trans-Pecos Pipeline, LLC; Notice of
Intent To Prepare an Environmental
Assessment for the Proposed Presidio
Border Crossing Project Request for
Comments on Environmental Issues
The staff of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC or
E:\FR\FM\30JYN1.SGM
30JYN1
Lhorne on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 146 / Thursday, July 30, 2015 / Notices
Commission) will prepare an
environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of
the Presidio Border Crossing Project
involving construction and operation of
facilities for the export of natural gas by
Trans-Pecos Pipeline, LLC (Trans-Pecos)
in Presidio County, Texas. The
Commission will use this EA in its
decision-making process to determine
whether the project is in the public
interest.
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 August 24,
2015.
If you sent comments on this project
to the Commission before the opening of
this docket on May 28, 2015, you will
need to file those comments in Docket
No. CP15–500–000 to ensure they are
considered as part of this proceeding.
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.
Trans-Pecos 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:54 Jul 29, 2015
Jkt 235001
Commission’s proceedings. It is also
available for viewing on the FERC Web
site (www.ferc.gov).
Public Participation
For your convenience, there are three
methods you can use to submit your
comments to the Commission. The
Commission encourages electronic filing
of comments and has expert staff
available to assist you at (202) 502–8258
or efiling@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;
(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,
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 (CP15–500–
000) with your submission: Kimberly D.
Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Summary of the Proposed Project
Trans-Pecos proposes to construct and
operate a new border crossing at the
international boundary between the
United States and Mexico in Presidio
County, Texas. The Presidio Border
Crossing Project would consist of the
construction of approximately 2,000 feet
of FERC-jurisdictional 42-inch-diameter
pipeline, installed beneath the Rio
Grande River near the City of Presidio
in Presidio County, Texas. The new
pipeline would have a maximum design
export capacity of approximately 1.3
billion cubic feet per day, in order to
transport natural gas to a new delivery
interconnect in the vicinity of the City
of Manuel Ojinaga, State of Chihuahua,
Mexico for electric generation and
industrial market needs in Mexico.
The general location of the project
facilities is shown in appendix 1.
Non-Jurisdictional Facilities
The Presidio Border Crossing Project
has associated facilities that would be
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
45523
constructed in support of the project,
but do not fall under the jurisdiction of
the FERC. This would include TransPecos’ intrastate pipeline facilities,
consisting of 143 miles of new 42-inchdiameter pipeline, multiple receipt and
delivery metering stations, and other
auxiliary facilities extending from Pecos
County, Texas and terminating at the
proposed FERC-jurisdictional project
facilities in Presidio County. The
intrastate facilities would be subject to
the jurisdiction of the Texas Railroad
Commission and would be nonjurisdictional to the FERC. In the EA, we
will provide available descriptions of
the non-jurisdictional facilities and
include them under our analysis of
cumulative impacts.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the Presidio Border
Crossing Project pipeline would affect a
total of 13.7 acres of land in the United
States, which includes temporary
workspace for HDD construction,
hydrostatic testing of the pipeline, and
project access. Following construction,
Trans-Pecos would retain 1.3 acres as a
50-foot-wide permanent easement for
operation of the FERC-jurisdictional
pipeline, and the remaining acreage
would be restored and revert to former
uses.
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 an
Authorization. NEPA also requires us 2
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 note that many
comments were filed prior to this
notice. We want to assure those
commentors that their concerns will be
considered in the scope of our
environmental review; you do not need
to resubmit comments. 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;
2 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the
environmental staff of the Commission’s Office of
Energy Projects.
E:\FR\FM\30JYN1.SGM
30JYN1
45524
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 146 / Thursday, July 30, 2015 / Notices
• land use;
• water resources, fisheries, and
wetlands;
• cultural resources;
• vegetation and wildlife;
• air quality and noise;
• endangered and threatened species;
• 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. We will 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.
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.3 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.
Lhorne on DSK7TPTVN1PROD 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.4 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
3 The Council on Environmental Quality
regulations addressing cooperating agency
responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations, part 1501.6.
4 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.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
14:54 Jul 29, 2015
Jkt 235001
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.
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.
When we publish and distribute the
EA, copies 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
2).
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 available on the
Commission’s Web site 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
PO 00000
Frm 00024
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
‘‘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., CP15–500). 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 now
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/
esubscribenow.htm.
Finally, public meetings 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: July 23, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015–18680 Filed 7–29–15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
Combined Notice of Filings
Take notice that the Commission has
received the following Natural Gas
Pipeline Rate and Refund Report filings:
Filings Instituting Proceedings
Docket Numbers: RP15–1125–000.
Applicants: Texas Eastern
Transmission, LP.
Description: § 4(d) Rate Filing: Market
Lateral Service Modifications to be
effective 9/1/2015.
Filed Date: 7/20/15.
Accession Number: 20150720–5142.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 8/3/15.
Docket Numbers: RP15–1126–000.
Applicants: TC Offshore LLC.
Description: § 4(d) Rate Filing:
Superior Neg Rate Agmt Footnotes to be
effective 7/20/2015.
Filed Date: 7/20/15.
Accession Number: 20150720–5205.
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 8/3/15.
Docket Numbers: RP15–1127–000.
Applicants: Dauphin Island Gathering
Partners.
E:\FR\FM\30JYN1.SGM
30JYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 146 (Thursday, July 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45522-45524]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18680]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP15-500-000]
Trans-Pecos Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Presidio Border Crossing
Project Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
[[Page 45523]]
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of the Presidio Border Crossing
Project involving construction and operation of facilities for the
export of natural gas by Trans-Pecos Pipeline, LLC (Trans-Pecos) in
Presidio County, Texas. The Commission will use this EA in its
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the
public interest.
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 August 24, 2015.
If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the
opening of this docket on May 28, 2015, you will need to file those
comments in Docket No. CP15-500-000 to ensure they are considered as
part of this proceeding.
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.
Trans-Pecos 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 three methods you can use to submit
your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic
filing of comments and has expert staff available to assist you at
(202) 502-8258 or efiling@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;
(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,
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
(CP15-500-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A,
Washington, DC 20426.
Summary of the Proposed Project
Trans-Pecos proposes to construct and operate a new border crossing
at the international boundary between the United States and Mexico in
Presidio County, Texas. The Presidio Border Crossing Project would
consist of the construction of approximately 2,000 feet of FERC-
jurisdictional 42-inch-diameter pipeline, installed beneath the Rio
Grande River near the City of Presidio in Presidio County, Texas. The
new pipeline would have a maximum design export capacity of
approximately 1.3 billion cubic feet per day, in order to transport
natural gas to a new delivery interconnect in the vicinity of the City
of Manuel Ojinaga, State of Chihuahua, Mexico for electric generation
and industrial market needs in Mexico.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.
Non-Jurisdictional Facilities
The Presidio Border Crossing Project has associated facilities that
would be constructed in support of the project, but do not fall under
the jurisdiction of the FERC. This would include Trans-Pecos'
intrastate pipeline facilities, consisting of 143 miles of new 42-inch-
diameter pipeline, multiple receipt and delivery metering stations, and
other auxiliary facilities extending from Pecos County, Texas and
terminating at the proposed FERC-jurisdictional project facilities in
Presidio County. The intrastate facilities would be subject to the
jurisdiction of the Texas Railroad Commission and would be non-
jurisdictional to the FERC. In the EA, we will provide available
descriptions of the non-jurisdictional facilities and include them
under our analysis of cumulative impacts.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the Presidio Border Crossing Project pipeline would
affect a total of 13.7 acres of land in the United States, which
includes temporary workspace for HDD construction, hydrostatic testing
of the pipeline, and project access. Following construction, Trans-
Pecos would retain 1.3 acres as a 50-foot-wide permanent easement for
operation of the FERC-jurisdictional pipeline, and the remaining
acreage would be restored and revert to former uses.
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 an
Authorization. NEPA also requires us \2\ 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 note that many comments were filed
prior to this notice. We want to assure those commentors that their
concerns will be considered in the scope of our environmental review;
you do not need to resubmit comments. We will consider all filed
comments during the preparation of the EA.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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;
[[Page 45524]]
land use;
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
cultural resources;
vegetation and wildlife;
air quality and noise;
endangered and threatened species;
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. We will 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.
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.\3\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 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.\4\ 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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\4\ 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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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.
When we publish and distribute the EA, copies 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 2).
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
available on the Commission's Web site 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., CP15-
500). 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 now 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/esubscribenow.htm.
Finally, public meetings 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: July 23, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-18680 Filed 7-29-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
