Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, Inc.; Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline Restoration Project and Supply Header Restoration Project, 72947-72948 [2021-27872]

Download as PDF jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 244 / Thursday, December 23, 2021 / Notices qualifying conduit hydropower facility, which is not required to be licensed or exempted from licensing. Comments and Motions to Intervene: Deadline for filing comments contesting whether the facility meets the qualifying criteria is 30 days from the issuance date of this notice. Deadline for filing motions to intervene is 30 days from the issuance date of this notice. Anyone may submit comments or a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of Rules of Practice and Procedure, 18 CFR 385.210 and 385.214. Any motions to intervene must be received on or before the specified deadline date for the particular proceeding. Filing and Service of Responsive Documents: All filings must (1) bear in all capital letters the ‘‘COMMENTS CONTESTING QUALIFICATION FOR A CONDUIT HYDROPOWER FACILITY’’ or ‘‘MOTION TO INTERVENE,’’ as applicable; (2) state in the heading the name of the applicant and the project number of the application to which the filing responds; (3) state the name, address, and telephone number of the person filing; and (4) otherwise comply with the requirements of sections 385.2001 through 385.2005 of the Commission’s regulations.1 All comments contesting Commission staff’s preliminary determination that the facility meets the qualifying criteria must set forth their evidentiary basis. The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing. Please file motions to intervene and comments using the Commission’s eFiling system at https:// www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asp. Commenters can submit brief comments up to 6,000 characters, without prior registration, using the eComment system at https://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ ecomment.asp. You must include your name and contact information at the end of your comments. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 208–3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659 (TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you may send a paper copy. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852. A copy of all other filings in reference to this application must be accompanied by 1 18 CFR 385.2001–2005 (2020). VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:50 Dec 22, 2021 Jkt 256001 proof of service on all persons listed in the service list prepared by the Commission in this proceeding, in accordance with 18 CFR 385.2010. Locations of Notice of Intent: The Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the internet through the Commission’s website at https://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/elibrary.asp. Enter the docket number (i.e., CD22–2) in the docket number field to access the document. You may also register online at https:// www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ esubscription.asp to be notified via email of new filings and issuances related to this or other pending projects. Copies of the notice of intent can be obtained directly from the applicant. For assistance, call toll-free 1–866–208– 3676 or email FERCOnlineSupport@ ferc.gov. For TTY, call (202) 502–8659. Dated: December 16, 2021. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2021–27783 Filed 12–22–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket Nos. CP15–554–009 and CP15–555– 007] Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, Inc.; Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline Restoration Project and Supply Header Restoration Project The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared a final supplemental environmental impact statement (sEIS) for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC’s (Atlantic) Atlantic Coast Pipeline Restoration Project, and Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, Inc.’s (EGTS) Supply Header Restoration Project (Restoration Projects), in the above-referenced dockets. Atlantic and EGTS request authorization to implement the Restoration Projects in order to stabilize lands affected by previous construction efforts for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project, respectively, and to facilitate cessation of all project-related activities. Implementation of the plans is proposed because Atlantic and EGTS have cancelled their respective projects and do not intend to complete them. The final sEIS assesses the potential impacts that would result from the PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 72947 Restoration Projects, in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).1 The FERC staff concludes that the proposed actions, with the additional mitigation measures recommended in the sEIS, would continue to avoid or reduce impacts to less than significant levels, with the exception of climate change impacts, for which FERC staff is unable to determine significance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the sEIS. 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 sEIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the following activities: • Atlantic proposes to leave all installed pipeline in place (approximately 31.4 miles of the pipeline right-of-way), restore lands that were cleared and graded (approximately 82.7 miles of the pipeline right-of-way), and leave felled trees in place in areas where trees have not yet been cleared (approximately 25.2 miles of the pipeline right-of-way). For aboveground facilities, Atlantic proposes to restore the sites and manage the disposition of the materials and land through an investment recovery process. Workspace for these activities would occur in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. • EGTS proposes to leave all installed pipeline in place (approximately 11.7 miles), leave approximately 0.13 mile of felled trees in place, and complete final restoration of approximately 9 miles of the pipeline right-of-way that EGTS previously cleared and/or graded. EGTS proposes to stabilize all aboveground facility sites and prepare assets for long term preservation. Workspace for these activities would occur in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability for the final sEIS to federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the project areas. The final sEIS is only available in electronic format. It may be 1 The construction and operation impacts of the then-proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project were evaluated in a final EIS, which was issued by the Commission on July 21, 2017, in Docket Nos. CP15–554–00, CP15–554–001; and CP15–555–000. E:\FR\FM\23DEN1.SGM 23DEN1 72948 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 244 / Thursday, December 23, 2021 / Notices viewed and downloaded from the FERC’s website (www.ferc.gov), on the natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industriesdata/natural-gas/environment/ environmental-documents). In addition, the sEIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC’s website. Click on the eLibrary link (https:// elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search), select ‘‘General Search,’’ and enter the docket number in the ‘‘Docket Number’’ field, excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP15–554 or CP15–555). 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. Additional information about the project is available from the Commission’s Office of External Affairs, 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 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 https://www.ferc.gov/ ferc-online/overview to register for eSubscription. Dated: December 17, 2021. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2021–27872 Filed 12–22–21; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717–01–P DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1 [Docket No. AD20–20–000] Notice of Availability of Final Engineering Guidelines for the Evaluation of Hydropower Projects: Chapter 15—Supporting Technical Information Document and Digital Project Archive The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared a final ‘‘Chapter 15—Supporting Technical Information Document and Digital Project Archive’’ of its Engineering VerDate Sep<11>2014 20:50 Dec 22, 2021 Jkt 256001 Guidelines for the Evaluation of Hydropower Projects (Guidelines). This chapter supersedes the portions of ‘‘Chapter 14—Dam Safety Performance Monitoring Program’’ that pertain to the Supporting Technical Information Document, and is one of four new chapters of the Guidelines intended to provide additional guidance related to 18 CFR part 12, Safety of Water Power Projects and Project Works, Docket No. RM20–9–000, Order No 880, issued by the Commission on December 16, 2021. On July 16, 2020, the Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to revise its part 12 regulations. On the same day, the Commission solicited public review and comment on four new draft chapters of its Guidelines. Draft Chapter 15 was part of that issuance. The Commission received ten comment letters in response to draft Chapter 15. Most of the comments were submitted by licensees and individuals through trade associations, including National Hydropower Association, Dam Safety Interest Group of CEATI International, and U.S. Society on Dams, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Comments were also received from individual licensees, corporations, and individuals, including David L. Mathews, McMillen Jacobs Associates, City of North Little Rock Electric, Alaska Electric Light and Power Company, Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, and Copper Valley Electric Association. In all, the ten comment letters consisted of approximately 105 discrete comments. The comments received were varied. Most comments requested clarification of the information to include in the Supporting Technical Information Document (STID), when STID updates should be submitted, and how the information should be stored and filed. Commenters asked the Commission to: • Clarify the use of hyperlinks in the STID; • Clarify when STID updates are to be submitted; • Clarify the requirement for providing searchable electronic documents from original hard copies; • Consider adding the use of secured shared drives as a storage option; • Reconsider the need for a hard copy of the STID; • Avoid the duplication of information included in the Standard Operating Procedures section that is also included in other sections of the STID; • Provide additional guidance on the type of information and reports to be PO 00000 Frm 00032 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 included in each section of the engineering analyses; and • Clarify the information to be included in the digital references. Commission staff has considered all comments in finalizing Chapter 15 of the Engineering Guidelines. Based on the comments received, Chapter 15 has been revised to: • Provide additional guidance on the types of information to include in the digital references, now termed the Digital Project Archive (DPA); • Clarify how to file the DPA; • Clarify the purpose of the STID and the DPA; • Clarify the contents and format of the STID; • Provide a file structure and organization for the DPA; and • Clarify when updates of the STID and DPA should be submitted. All information related to ‘‘Chapter 15—Supporting Technical Information Document and Digital Project Archive,’’ including the draft chapter, all submitted comments, and the final chapter, can be found on the FERC website (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., AD20–20). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. The Commission also 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 electronic notification of these filings and direct links to the documents. Go to the Commission’s website (www.ferc.gov), select the FERC Online option from the left-hand column, and click on eSubscription. Users must be registered in order to use eSubscription. The final version of Chapter 15 is also available on the Commission’s Division of Dam Safety and Inspections website at: Engineering Guidelines for the Evaluation of Hydropower Projects | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (ferc.gov). Information Collection Statement Chapter 15 includes information collection activities for which the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3521, requires approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The Commission has included the burden and cost estimates for information collection activities related to this chapter in the rulemaking document (Docket No. RM20–9–000, Order No. 880. The Commission has E:\FR\FM\23DEN1.SGM 23DEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 244 (Thursday, December 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 72947-72948]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27872]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP15-554-009 and CP15-555-007]


Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, Eastern Gas Transmission and 
Storage, Inc.; Notice of Availability of the Final Supplemental 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline 
Restoration Project and Supply Header Restoration Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a final supplemental environmental impact 
statement (sEIS) for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC's (Atlantic) 
Atlantic Coast Pipeline Restoration Project, and Eastern Gas 
Transmission and Storage, Inc.'s (EGTS) Supply Header Restoration 
Project (Restoration Projects), in the above-referenced dockets. 
Atlantic and EGTS request authorization to implement the Restoration 
Projects in order to stabilize lands affected by previous construction 
efforts for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project, 
respectively, and to facilitate cessation of all project-related 
activities. Implementation of the plans is proposed because Atlantic 
and EGTS have cancelled their respective projects and do not intend to 
complete them.
    The final sEIS assesses the potential impacts that would result 
from the Restoration Projects, in accordance with the requirements of 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).\1\ The FERC staff 
concludes that the proposed actions, with the additional mitigation 
measures recommended in the sEIS, would continue to avoid or reduce 
impacts to less than significant levels, with the exception of climate 
change impacts, for which FERC staff is unable to determine 
significance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The construction and operation impacts of the then-proposed 
Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Supply Header Project were evaluated in 
a final EIS, which was issued by the Commission on July 21, 2017, in 
Docket Nos. CP15-554-00, CP15-554-001; and CP15-555-000.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and the U.S. 
Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service participated as 
cooperating agencies in the preparation of the sEIS. 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 sEIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
following activities:
     Atlantic proposes to leave all installed pipeline in place 
(approximately 31.4 miles of the pipeline right-of-way), restore lands 
that were cleared and graded (approximately 82.7 miles of the pipeline 
right-of-way), and leave felled trees in place in areas where trees 
have not yet been cleared (approximately 25.2 miles of the pipeline 
right-of-way). For aboveground facilities, Atlantic proposes to restore 
the sites and manage the disposition of the materials and land through 
an investment recovery process. Workspace for these activities would 
occur in West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina.
     EGTS proposes to leave all installed pipeline in place 
(approximately 11.7 miles), leave approximately 0.13 mile of felled 
trees in place, and complete final restoration of approximately 9 miles 
of the pipeline right-of-way that EGTS previously cleared and/or 
graded. EGTS proposes to stabilize all aboveground facility sites and 
prepare assets for long term preservation. Workspace for these 
activities would occur in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability for the 
final sEIS to federal, state, and local government representatives and 
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; 
Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other 
interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the 
project areas. The final sEIS is only available in electronic format. 
It may be

[[Page 72948]]

viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on the 
natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents). In 
addition, the sEIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the 
FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search), select ``General Search,'' and enter the docket 
number in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the last three digits 
(i.e., CP15-554 or CP15-555). 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.
    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, 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 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 
https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to register for 
eSubscription.

    Dated: December 17, 2021.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-27872 Filed 12-22-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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