Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC Southgate Project, 37859-37861 [2019-16457]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 149 (Friday, August 2, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37859-37861]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16457]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP19-14-000]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact 
Statement for the Proposed Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC Southgate 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Southgate Project, proposed by Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC 
(Mountain Valley) in the above-referenced docket. Mountain Valley 
requests authorization to construct and operate approximately 73 miles 
of natural gas transmission pipeline, one new compressor station, and 
accompanying facilities that would provide about 375 million cubic feet 
per day [MMcf/d]) of available capacity for transport from the City of 
Chatham, in Pittsylvania County, Virginia to a delivery point with 
Dominion Energy (formerly PSNC) near the City of Graham in Alamance 
County, North Carolina.
    The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Southgate Project in accordance with 
the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The 
FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project would result 
in some adverse environmental impacts. However, if the Project is 
constructed and operated in accordance with applicable laws and 
regulations, the mitigation measures discussed in this EIS, and our 
recommendations, these impacts would be reduced to less-than-
significant levels.
    The United States Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and the U.S. 
Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) participated 
as cooperating agencies in preparation of this draft EIS. Cooperating 
agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to 
resources potentially affected by the proposal and participate in the 
NEPA analysis. The COE would use this EIS in their regulatory process, 
and to satisfy compliance with NEPA and other related federal 
environmental laws (e.g., the National Historic Preservation Act). 
Although the cooperating agencies provided input to the conclusions and 
recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the agencies would present 
their own conclusions and recommendations in a combined Record of 
Decision (ROD) for the Project, if required.
    The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
     About 73 miles of new 24-inch and 16-inch diameter natural 
gas pipeline located in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, and Rockingham 
and Alamance Counties, North Carolina.;
     one new 28,915 horsepower compressor station (Lambert 
Compressor Station) in Pittsylvania County, Virginia;
     four interconnects or tie-ins with facilities operated by 
Mountain Valley, East Tennessee Gas, and Dominion Energy; and
     ancillary facilities including pig launchers and 
receivers, mainline block valves (MLV), and cathodic protection beds.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
draft EIS to federal, state, and local government representatives and 
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; 
Indian Tribes;

[[Page 37860]]

potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and 
groups; and newspapers and libraries in the area of the Project. The 
draft EIS is available in hard copy at libraries in the area of the 
Project and in electronic format. It may be viewed and downloaded from 
the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on the Environmental Documents page 
(https://www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/eis.asp). In addition, the 
draft EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC's 
website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/elibrary.asp), click on General Search, and enter the docket number in 
the Docket Number field, excluding the last three digits (i.e. CP19-
14). 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.
    Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. Your 
comments should focus on the draft EIS's disclosure and discussion of 
potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures 
to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific your 
comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure consideration of your 
comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is important that the 
Commission receive your comments on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on 
September 16, 2019.
    For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided verbally. The Commission encourages electronic filing of 
comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-3676 or 
[email protected]. Please carefully follow these instructions 
so that your comments are properly recorded.
    (1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment 
feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to 
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; 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 
(CP19-14-000) 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 comment sessions 
that will be held in the Project area to receive comments on the draft 
EIS, scheduled as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Date and time                           Location
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August 19, 2019, 5:00-8:00     Rockingham Community College, 215 Wrenn
 p.m.                           Memorial Road, Wentworth, NC 27375,
                                (336) 342-4261.
August 20, 2019, 5:00-8:00     Olde Dominion Ag Complex, 19783 U.S. Hwy.
 p.m.                           29 South, Chatham, VA 24531, (434) 432-
                                8026.
August 22, 2019, 5:00-8:00     Vailtree Event Center, 1567 Bakatsias
 p.m.                           Lane, Haw River, NC 27258, (336) 578-
                                4020.
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    The primary goal of these comment sessions is to provide the public 
with another method for identifying specific environmental issues and 
concerns with the draft EIS. Individual verbal comments will be taken 
on a one-on-one basis with a court reporter. This format is designed to 
receive the maximum amount of verbal comments in a convenient way 
during the timeframe allotted.
    Each comment session is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EST. 
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; distribution of numbers will be discontinued at 7:00 p.m. in 
order to ensure all comments are received by the session closing time. 
However, if no additional numbers have been handed out and all 
individuals who wish to provide comments have had an opportunity to do 
so, staff may conclude the session at 7:00 p.m. Please see appendix 1 
for additional information on the session format and conduct.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the appendices were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
www.ferc.gov using the link called eLibrary 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.
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    Your verbal 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 3 to 5 minutes may 
be implemented for each commentor.
    It is important to note that verbal comments hold the same weight 
as written or electronically submitted comments. Although there will 
not be a formal presentation, Commission staff will be available 
throughout the comment session to answer your questions about the FERC 
environmental review process.
    Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a 
motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of 
Practice and Procedures (18 CFR part 385.214). Motions to intervene are 
more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or 
judicial review of the Commission's decision. The Commission grants 
affected landowners and others with environmental concerns intervenor 
status upon showing good cause by stating that they have a clear and 
direct interest in this proceeding which no other party can adequately 
represent. Simply filing environmental comments will not give you 
intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor status to have your 
comments considered.

Questions?

    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs,

[[Page 37861]]

at (866) 208-FERC, or on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) using the 
eLibrary link. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of 
all formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, 
and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission offers a free service called 
eSubscription that allows you to keep track of all formal issuances and 
submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time you 
spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links to 
the documents. Go to www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.

    Dated: July 26, 2019.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-16457 Filed 8-1-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P