East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed System Alignment Program Project, 82346-82347 [2023-25968]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 225 (Friday, November 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 82346-82347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25968]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP23-131-000]


East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed System Alignment Program 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the 
System Alignment Program Project (Project), proposed by East Tennessee 
Natural Gas, LLC (East Tennessee) in the above-referenced docket. East 
Tennessee requests authorization to construct approximately 16.1 miles 
of 24-inch-diameter pipeline loop (Boyds Creek Loop) adjacent to its 
existing 16-inch-diameter pipeline (Line 3300-1) in Knox and Sevier 
Counties, Tennessee; a new 6,000-horsepower compressor station (the 
Talbott Compressor Station) in Jefferson County, Tennessee; a new 
19,000-horsepower compressor station in Rockingham County, North 
Carolina (the Draper Compressor Station); and ancillary facilities in 
Knox County and Sevier Counties, Tennessee and Washington and Wythe 
Counties, Virginia. East Tennessee would also replace approximately 6.4 
miles of 8-inch-diameter pipeline with new 24-inch-diameter pipeline 
within its existing right-of-way in Washington County, Virginia and 
complete a hydrotest of an approximately 1.2-mile-long segment of 
existing pipeline in Patrick County, Virginia.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC 
staff concludes that approval of the Project, with appropriate 
mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The Commission mailed a copy of this Notice of Availability of the 
EA to federal, state, and local government representatives and 
agencies; elected officials; non-governmental organizations, 
environmental, and public interest groups; potentially

[[Page 82347]]

interested Indian tribes; affected landowners; and newspapers and 
libraries in the Project area. The EA is only available in electronic 
format. It may be 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 EA 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, (i.e. CP23-
131-000). 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 EA is not a decision document. It presents Commission staff's 
independent analysis of the environmental issues for the Commission to 
consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this proceeding. 
Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. Your comments should 
focus on the EA'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. The EA also includes site-specific construction plans for 
residences within 50 feet of Project workspaces (see appendix J); 
affected landowners are encouraged to review these plans and provide 
comments. To ensure consideration of your comments, it is important 
that the Commission receive your comments on or before 5:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time on December 18, 2023.
    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 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 
FERC Online. This is an easy method for submitting brief, text-only 
comments on a project.
    (2) You can also file your comments electronically using the 
eFiling feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the 
link to FERC Online. 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.'' You must select the type of filing you are making. If 
you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select 
``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP23-
131-000) on your letter. 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, Maryland 20852.
    Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, 
but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered. 
Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of 
the Commission's decision. At this point in this proceeding, the 
timeframe for filing timely intervention requests has expired. Any 
person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion 
to intervene out-of-time pursuant to Rule 214(b)(3) and (d) of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and 
(d)) and show good cause why the time limitation should be waived. 
Motions to intervene are more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene.
    Additional information about the Project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the 
FERC website (https://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.
    The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or [email protected].
    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: November 17, 2023.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-25968 Filed 11-22-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P