80 FR 16664 - Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed UTICA Access Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 60 (March 30, 2015)

Page Range		16664-16666
FR Document		2015-07143

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 60 (Monday, March 30, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16664-16666]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07143]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-87-000]

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed UTICA Access 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 Utica Access Project involving
construction and operation of facilities by Columbia Gas Transmission,
LLC. (Columbia) in Clay and Kanawha Counties, West Virginia. The
Commission will use this EA in its decision-making process to determine

[[Page 16665]]

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. Your input will help the Commission staff
determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. Please note that
the scoping period will close on April 20, 2015.
You may submit comments in written form. Further details on how to
submit written comments are in the Public Participation section of this
notice. If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before
the opening of this docket on February 12, 2015, you will need to file
those comments in Docket No. CP15-87-000 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.
Columbia 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).

Summary of the Proposed Project

According to Columbia, the Utica Access Project would result in a
capacity of 205,000 dekatherms per day of firm transportation service
of stranded Utica natural gas into Columbia's system and regional
market.
Specifically, the Utica Access Project would consist of the
installation of approximately 4.8 miles of new 24-inch-diameter
pipeline and the following appurtenant facilities in Clay and Kanawha
Counties, West Virginia:
Four new bi-directional pig launcher and receiver systems
at the following locations: one each at MP 0.0 and MP 4.8 of the new
24-inch-diameter pipeline, and one each at the existing Coco and Cobb
Compressor Stations (which are on Columbia's existing Line X52-M1);
a new mainline valve setting on Line X52-M1 at a proposed
new tap at MP 0.0;
two new 10-inch pressure regulating valves and
modifications within the existing Coco Compressor Station;
one new remote terminal unit building at MP 4.8;
twenty-one existing and two partially new access roads;
and
three temporary contractor yards.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1. \1\
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\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.
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Land Requirements for Construction

The total land requirement to construct the project is
approximately 118.9 acres, of which 36.6 acres would be permanently
altered and converted to pipeline right-of-way, access road, or
commercial/industrial land use. Upland forest would make up
approximately 27.2 acres of the 36.6 acres of permanent impacts. Upon
completion of the project, the remaining land used for temporary
workspace would be re-graded, stabilized and re-vegetated, and allowed
to revert to pre-construction conditions.

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:
Land use;
geology and soils;
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
cultural resources;
vegetation and wildlife;
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 below.
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 West Virginia 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

[[Page 16666]]

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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Public Participation

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. The more specific
your comments, the more useful they will be. 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 April
20, 2015.
For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please
reference the project docket number (CP15-87-000) with your submission.
The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert
staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or [email protected].
(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 interested persons to
submit brief, text-only comments on a project;
(2) You can file your comments electronically 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.'' 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 following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC
20426.

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.
If we publish and distribute the EA, copies 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 User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the Commission's Web
site.

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., CP15-
87). 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 now 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: March 20, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-07143 Filed 3-27-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

Document Created: 2015-12-18 11:32:15
Document Modified: 2015-12-18 11:32:15

Category		Regulatory Information
Collection		Federal Register
sudoc Class		AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106:
Publisher		Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
Section		Notices
FR Citation		80 FR 16664

80 FR 16664 - Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed UTICA Access Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 60 (March 30, 2015)

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission