Magnum Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Magnum Gas Storage Amendment Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, 3402-3404 [2016-01115]
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asabaliauskas on DSK9F6TC42PROD with NOTICES
3402
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 13 / Thursday, January 21, 2016 / Notices
The above-referenced meetings are
open to the public.
The discussions at each of the
meetings described above may address
matters at issue in the following
proceedings:
Docket No. ER11–4081, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER12–678, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER12–2302, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–187, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–186, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–101, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–89, MidAmerican
Energy Company
Docket No. ER12–1266, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER12–1265, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–1924, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–1943, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–1944, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–1945, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. EL13–88, Northern Indiana
Public Service Corp. v Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc., et
al.
Docket No. EL14–12, ABATE et al. v
Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc., et al.
Docket No. AD12–16, Capacity
Deliverability across the MISO/PJM
Seam
Docket No. AD14–3, Coordination of
Energy and Capacity across the MISO/
PJM Seam
Docket No. ER13–1938, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER14–1736, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER14–2445, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER15–133, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER15–530, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER15–767, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER15–945, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER09–1431, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
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18:26 Jan 20, 2016
Jkt 238001
Docket No. ER11–2275, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER11–3279, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER12–1194, Midwest
Independent Transmission System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER15–1210, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER13–1938, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER14–649, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER14–2952, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER14–2605, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER14–1210, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER15–943, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–213, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–469, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–470, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–490, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–521, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER15–2657, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–533, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–534, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–611, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. ER16–675, Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. EL15–70, Public Citizen, Inc
v. Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. EL15–71, People of the State
of Illinois v. Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
Docket No. EL15–72, Southwestern
Electric Cooperative, Inc. v.
Midcontinent Independent System
Operator, Inc.
Docket No. EL15–82, Illinois Industrial
Energy Consumers v. Midcontinent
Independent System Operator, Inc.
For more information, contact Patrick
Clarey, Office of Energy Markets
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission at (317) 249–5937 or
patrick.clarey@ferc.gov, or Christopher
Miller, Office of Energy Markets
Regulation, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission at (317) 249–5936 or
christopher.miller@ferc.gov.
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Dated: January 14, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016–01120 Filed 1–20–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP16–18–000]
Magnum Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of
Intent To Prepare anEnvironmental
Assessment for the Proposed Magnum
Gas Storage Amendment Project and
Request for Comments on
Environmental Issues
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 Magnum Gas Storage Amendment
Project (Project) involving construction
and operation of facilities by Magnum
Gas Storage, LLC (Magnum) in Millard,
Juab, and Utah Counties, Utah. The
Commission will use this EA in its
decision-making process to determine
whether the project is in the public
convenience and necessity. The
proposed Project is an Amendment to
the Certificate of Public Convenience
and Necessity (Certificate) issued on
March 17, 2011 in Docket No. CP10–22–
000 to Magnum. The Certificate
authorized Magnum to construct, own,
and operate a natural gas storage facility
in Millard, Juab, and Utah Counties
Utah, with related facilities including a
61.6 mile long, 36-inch diameter natural
gas header pipeline (Header).
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 February
16, 2016.
If you sent comments on this project
to the Commission before the opening of
this docket on November 16, 2015, you
will need to file those comments in
Docket No. CP16–18–000 to ensure they
E:\FR\FM\21JAN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 13 / Thursday, January 21, 2016 / Notices
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 Magnum 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.
Magnum 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/resources/guides/gas/
gas.pdf).
asabaliauskas on DSK9F6TC42PROD with NOTICES
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
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18:26 Jan 20, 2016
Jkt 238001
(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 (CP16–18–
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
For this Amendment, Magnum is
proposing the following changes to its
facilities, all within the previously
analyzed and approved project area:
Facilities Eliminated From Previous
Authorization
• Brine evaporation pond 1;
• monitoring wells DA–1 and DA–2;
and
• monitoring wells, GA–1, GA–2,
GA–9, GA–10, and GA–11.
Pipeline Header
• A 6,252-foot-long segment of the
header pipeline would be relocated 63
feet north, west of Jones road in Millard
County, Utah.
Aboveground Facilities Relocated on
Previous Authorized Site
• Four natural gas caverns;
• water wells 1 through 5;
• compression, dehydration, and
pumping facilities;
• 4-inch gas supply line;
• maintenance and laydown area;
• office/warehouse building and
substation; and
• site-wide utilities.
The general location of the project
facilities is shown in appendix 1.1
Land Requirements for Construction
For the Magnum Project approved in
the March 17, 2011 Order, construction
and operation would require the use of
approximately 1,800 acres of land. The
gas storage facilities would be located
on a 2,050 acre site. Approximately 28
miles of the 61.6-mile-long Header
would be collocated with the existing
Utah-Nevada and Kern River Gas
Pipelines. Also, a portion of the Header
would also be located within the West
Wide Energy Corridor. For the proposed
Amendment, a 6,252-foot-long segment
of the header pipeline would be
relocated 63 feet north, west of Jones
road. Magnum is not proposing any
changes to the temporary or permanent
1 The appendices referenced in this notice will
not appear in the Federal Register. Copies of
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.
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
3403
right-of-way width for this portion of
the Header alignment. Therefore, the
previously approved temporary and
permanent disturbance acreage would
not increase.
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 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 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;
• cultural resources;
• vegetation and wildlife, including
migratory birds;
• 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. 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.
With this notice, we are asking
agencies with jurisdiction by law and/
or special expertise with respect to the
2 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the
environmental staff of the Commission’s Office of
Energy Projects.
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21JAN1
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Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 13 / Thursday, January 21, 2016 / Notices
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.
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.
asabaliauskas on DSK9F6TC42PROD with NOTICES
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
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
18:26 Jan 20, 2016
Jkt 238001
interested in and/or potentially affected
by the proposed project.
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
2).
Dated: January 14, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
Becoming an Intervenor
[Docket No. CP16–38–000; PF15–21–000]
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., CP16–18). 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 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.
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[FR Doc. 2016–01115 Filed 1–20–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC;
Notice of Application
Take notice that on December 30,
2015, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC
(Columbia), 5151 San Felipe, Suite
2500, Houston, TX 77056, filed an
application pursuant to section 7(c) of
the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and Part 157
of the Commission’s Regulations
requesting authority to construct and
operate its WB Xpress Project which
would include: (i) The construction of
approximately 29.2 miles of various
diameter pipeline, (ii) modifications to
seven existing compressor stations, (iii)
construction of two new compressor
stations, and (iv) uprating the maximum
allowable operating pressure (MAOP)
on various segments of Columbia’s
existing Line WB and Line VB natural
gas transmission systems. The WB
Xpress Project facilities are designed to
expand the capacity of Columbia’s
existing system to transport up to
approximately 1.3 million dekatherms
per day (MMDth/d) of natural gas.
Facilities to be constructed or uprated
are located in Clay, Kanawha, Grant,
Upshur, Randolph, Pendleton, Braxton,
and Hardy Counties, West Virginia and
in Clark, Fauquier, Fairfax, Loudoun,
Shenandoah, and Warren Counties,
Virginia. The cost to construct the
project facilities is approximately 780
million dollars.
The filing may be viewed on the web
at https://www.ferc.gov using the
‘‘eLibrary’’ link. Enter the docket
number excluding the last three digits in
the docket number field to access the
document. For assistance, contact FERC
at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call
toll-free, (886) 208–3676 or TYY, (202)
502–8659.
Any questions concerning this
application should be directed to
Michael D. Walker, Manager, FERC
Certificates, Columbia Gas
Transmission, LLC, P.O. Box 1273
Charleston, West Virginia 25325, phone:
(304) 357–2443, Fax: (304) 357–2770, or
email mdwalker@cpg.com or Brittany
Carns, Community Relations &
Stakeholder Outreach Manager at the
E:\FR\FM\21JAN1.SGM
21JAN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 13 (Thursday, January 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3402-3404]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-01115]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP16-18-000]
Magnum Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare
anEnvironmental Assessment for the Proposed Magnum Gas Storage
Amendment Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
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 Magnum Gas Storage Amendment
Project (Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by
Magnum Gas Storage, LLC (Magnum) in Millard, Juab, and Utah Counties,
Utah. The Commission will use this EA in its decision-making process to
determine whether the project is in the public convenience and
necessity. The proposed Project is an Amendment to the Certificate of
Public Convenience and Necessity (Certificate) issued on March 17, 2011
in Docket No. CP10-22-000 to Magnum. The Certificate authorized Magnum
to construct, own, and operate a natural gas storage facility in
Millard, Juab, and Utah Counties Utah, with related facilities
including a 61.6 mile long, 36-inch diameter natural gas header
pipeline (Header).
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 February 16, 2016.
If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the
opening of this docket on November 16, 2015, you will need to file
those comments in Docket No. CP16-18-000 to ensure they
[[Page 3403]]
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 Magnum
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.
Magnum 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/resources/guides/gas/gas.pdf).
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
(CP16-18-000) 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
For this Amendment, Magnum is proposing the following changes to
its facilities, all within the previously analyzed and approved project
area:
Facilities Eliminated From Previous Authorization
Brine evaporation pond 1;
monitoring wells DA-1 and DA-2; and
monitoring wells, GA-1, GA-2, GA-9, GA-10, and GA-11.
Pipeline Header
A 6,252-foot-long segment of the header pipeline would be
relocated 63 feet north, west of Jones road in Millard County, Utah.
Aboveground Facilities Relocated on Previous Authorized Site
Four natural gas caverns;
water wells 1 through 5;
compression, dehydration, and pumping facilities;
4-inch gas supply line;
maintenance and laydown area;
office/warehouse building and substation; and
site-wide utilities.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in
the Federal Register. Copies of 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Land Requirements for Construction
For the Magnum Project approved in the March 17, 2011 Order,
construction and operation would require the use of approximately 1,800
acres of land. The gas storage facilities would be located on a 2,050
acre site. Approximately 28 miles of the 61.6-mile-long Header would be
collocated with the existing Utah-Nevada and Kern River Gas Pipelines.
Also, a portion of the Header would also be located within the West
Wide Energy Corridor. For the proposed Amendment, a 6,252-foot-long
segment of the header pipeline would be relocated 63 feet north, west
of Jones road. Magnum is not proposing any changes to the temporary or
permanent right-of-way width for this portion of the Header alignment.
Therefore, the previously approved temporary and permanent disturbance
acreage would not increase.
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
\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 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;
land use;
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
cultural resources;
vegetation and wildlife, including migratory birds;
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. 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.
With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law
and/or special expertise with respect to the
[[Page 3404]]
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.
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\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.
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 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 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., CP16-
18). 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 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: January 14, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-01115 Filed 1-20-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P