Adelphia Gateway, LLC; Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Adelphia Gateway Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Sessions, 20802-20804 [2018-09719]
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20802
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 8, 2018 / Notices
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP18–46–000]
Adelphia Gateway, LLC; Notice of
Intent to Prepare an Environmental
Assessment for the Proposed Adelphia
Gateway Project, Request for
Comments on Environmental Issues,
and Notice of Public Scoping Sessions
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 Adelphia Gateway Project involving
construction and operation of facilities
by Adelphia Gateway, LLC (Adelphia)
in Delaware, Bucks, Chester,
Montgomery, and Northampton
Counties, Pennsylvania, and New Castle
County, Delaware. 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 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on June 1, 2018.
If you sent comments on this project
to the Commission before the opening of
this docket on January 11, 2018, you
will need to file those comments in
Docket No. CP18–46–000 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.
Adelphia 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 website
(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 website
(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 website
(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;
(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 (CP18–46–
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 one of the public
scoping sessions its staff will conduct in
the project area, scheduled as follows:
Date and time
Location
Wednesday, May 30, 2018, 5:00–9:00 p.m .............................................
Homewood Suites by Hilton, Allentown Bethlehem Center Valley, 3350
Center Valley Parkway, Center Valley, PA 18034, (610) 351–6400.
Clarion Hotel Philadelphia Airport, 76 Industrial Highway, Route 291,
Essington, PA 19029, (610) 521–9600.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Thursday, May 31, 2018, 5:00–9:00 p.m .................................................
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.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
18:41 May 07, 2018
Jkt 244001
Each scoping session is scheduled
from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern
Time. 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 speak,
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
PO 00000
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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,
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 8, 2018 / Notices
Your scoping comments will be
recorded by the court reporter (with
FERC staff or representative present)
and become part of the public record for
this proceeding. Transcripts will be
publicly available on FERC’s eLibrary
system (see 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 5 minutes may
be implemented for each commenter.
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.
Please note this is not your only
public input opportunity; please refer to
the review process flow chart in
appendix 2.
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Summary of the Proposed Project
Adelphia proposes to acquire and
convert an existing oil pipeline and an
existing dual-phase oil and natural gas
pipeline to natural gas only, and
construct and operate new natural gas
pipelines, compressor stations, meter
stations, and appurtenant facilities in
Delaware, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery,
and Northampton Counties,
Pennsylvania, and New Castle County,
Delaware. The Adelphia Gateway
Project would provide about 175 million
standard cubic feet of natural gas per
day to the greater Philadelphia
industrial region with potential to serve
additional markets in the northeast.
Specifically, the Adelphia Gateway
Project would consist of the
construction of the following facilities:
• One new 5,625 horsepower (hp)
compressor station in Delaware County,
Pennsylvania (Marcus Hook Compressor
Station);
• one new 5,625 hp compressor
station in Bucks County, Pennsylvania
(Quakertown Compressor Station);
• 0.25 mile of new 16-inch-diameter
pipeline lateral in Delaware County,
Pennsylvania and New Castle County,
Delaware (Parkway Lateral);
• 4.5 miles of new 16-inch-diameter
pipeline lateral in Delaware County,
Pennsylvania (Tilghman Lateral);
• one new interconnect each in
Montgomery County and Bucks County,
Pennsylvania;
refer to the last page of this notice. 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
18:41 May 07, 2018
Jkt 244001
• three new interconnects in New
Castle County, Delaware;
• three new interconnects in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania;
• eight new blowdown assemblies
(one in Delaware County, two in
Montgomery County, and five in Chester
County, Pennsylvania);
• one new mainline valve in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania; and
• one temporary wareyard in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, the Adelphia Gateway
Project would require the acquisition
and use of the following existing
facilities:
• 4.4 miles of existing 20-inchdiameter natural gas pipeline in
Northampton County, Pennsylvania;
• 84 miles of existing 18-inchdiameter pipeline (the northern 34-mile
segment was used to transport oil and
natural gas, and the southern 50-mile
segment was used to transport fuel oil);
and
• four existing meter stations in
Bucks, Delaware, and Northampton
Counties, Pennsylvania.
The general location of the project
facilities is shown in appendix 3.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities
would disturb about 42 acres of land for
the proposed aboveground facilities and
the pipelines. Following construction,
Adelphia would maintain about 9 acres
for permanent operation of the project’s
facilities; the remaining acreage would
be restored and would revert to former
uses. The majority of the proposed rightof-way for the pipelines are collocated
with existing roads, power lines, and
other pipeline rights-of-way.
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
2 We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission’s Office of Energy Projects.
PO 00000
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20803
construction and operation of the
proposed project under these general
headings:
• Geology and soils;
• water resources and wetlands;
• fisheries, vegetation, and wildlife;
• endangered and threatened species;
• cultural resources;
• socioeconomics;
• land use;
• 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. We will 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.
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
Offices (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
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.
E:\FR\FM\08MYN1.SGM
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20804
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 89 / Tuesday, May 8, 2018 / Notices
define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation
with the SHPOs 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.
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.
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
4).
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
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 website.
Motions to intervene are more fully
described at https://www.ferc.gov/
resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp.
18:41 May 07, 2018
Dated: May 1, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–09719 Filed 5–7–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP18–118–000]
Becoming an Intervenor
VerDate Sep<11>2014
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
website 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.,
CP18–46). 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.
Jkt 244001
Rover Pipeline LLC; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment
for the Proposed UGS-Crawford Meter
Station 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 UGS-Crawford Meter Station Project
involving construction and operation of
facilities by Rover Pipeline LLC (Rover)
in Jefferson County, Ohio. The
Commission will use this EA in its
decision-making process to determine
whether the project is in the public
convenience and necessity.
PO 00000
Frm 00018
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
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 5:00 p.m.
Eastern Time on May 31, 2018.
If you sent comments on this project
to the Commission before the opening of
this docket on March 15, 2018, you will
need to file those comments in Docket
No. CP18–118–000 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.
Rover 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 website
(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 FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. Please
E:\FR\FM\08MYN1.SGM
08MYN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 89 (Tuesday, May 8, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20802-20804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-09719]
[[Page 20802]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP18-46-000]
Adelphia Gateway, LLC; Notice of Intent to Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Adelphia Gateway Project,
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public
Scoping Sessions
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 Adelphia Gateway Project
involving construction and operation of facilities by Adelphia Gateway,
LLC (Adelphia) in Delaware, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and Northampton
Counties, Pennsylvania, and New Castle County, Delaware. 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 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on
June 1, 2018.
If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the
opening of this docket on January 11, 2018, you will need to file those
comments in Docket No. CP18-46-000 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.
Adelphia 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 website (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 [email protected]. Please carefully follow these
instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.
(1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment
feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
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 website (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;
(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
(CP18-46-000) 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 one of the public scoping sessions its
staff will conduct in the project area, scheduled as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date and time Location
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, May 30, 2018, 5:00-9:00 p.m. Homewood Suites by Hilton,
Allentown Bethlehem Center
Valley, 3350 Center Valley
Parkway, Center Valley, PA
18034, (610) 351-6400.
Thursday, May 31, 2018, 5:00-9:00 p.m.. Clarion Hotel Philadelphia
Airport, 76 Industrial
Highway, Route 291, Essington,
PA 19029, (610) 521-9600.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
Eastern Time. 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 speak, 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. 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 20803]]
Your scoping comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with
FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public
record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on
FERC's eLibrary system (see 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 5 minutes may be
implemented for each commenter.
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.
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
Adelphia proposes to acquire and convert an existing oil pipeline
and an existing dual-phase oil and natural gas pipeline to natural gas
only, and construct and operate new natural gas pipelines, compressor
stations, meter stations, and appurtenant facilities in Delaware,
Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania, and
New Castle County, Delaware. The Adelphia Gateway Project would provide
about 175 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to the
greater Philadelphia industrial region with potential to serve
additional markets in the northeast.
Specifically, the Adelphia Gateway Project would consist of the
construction of the following facilities:
One new 5,625 horsepower (hp) compressor station in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Marcus Hook Compressor Station);
one new 5,625 hp compressor station in Bucks County,
Pennsylvania (Quakertown Compressor Station);
0.25 mile of new 16-inch-diameter pipeline lateral in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania and New Castle County, Delaware (Parkway
Lateral);
4.5 miles of new 16-inch-diameter pipeline lateral in
Delaware County, Pennsylvania (Tilghman Lateral);
one new interconnect each in Montgomery County and Bucks
County, Pennsylvania;
three new interconnects in New Castle County, Delaware;
three new interconnects in Delaware County, Pennsylvania;
eight new blowdown assemblies (one in Delaware County, two
in Montgomery County, and five in Chester County, Pennsylvania);
one new mainline valve in Delaware County, Pennsylvania;
and
one temporary wareyard in Delaware County, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, the Adelphia Gateway Project would require the
acquisition and use of the following existing facilities:
4.4 miles of existing 20-inch-diameter natural gas
pipeline in Northampton County, Pennsylvania;
84 miles of existing 18-inch-diameter pipeline (the
northern 34-mile segment was used to transport oil and natural gas, and
the southern 50-mile segment was used to transport fuel oil); and
four existing meter stations in Bucks, Delaware, and
Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
3.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would disturb about 42
acres of land for the proposed aboveground facilities and the
pipelines. Following construction, Adelphia would maintain about 9
acres for permanent operation of the project's facilities; the
remaining acreage would be restored and would revert to former uses.
The majority of the proposed right-of-way for the pipelines are
collocated with existing roads, power lines, and other pipeline rights-
of-way.
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.
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\2\ 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;
water resources and wetlands;
fisheries, vegetation, and wildlife;
endangered and threatened species;
cultural resources;
socioeconomics;
land use;
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. We will
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.
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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 Offices (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
[[Page 20804]]
define the project-specific Area of Potential Effects (APE) in
consultation with the SHPOs 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. 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 4).
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 website. 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 website 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., CP18-
46). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected] or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY,
contact (202) 502-8659. The 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: May 1, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-09719 Filed 5-7-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
