81 FR 86707 - WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned Valley Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 231 (December 1, 2016)

Page Range		86707-86709
FR Document		2016-28850
Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 231 (Thursday, December 1, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86707-86709]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-28850]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF16-10-000]


WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Planned Valley Expansion 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 Valley Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by WBI Energy 
Transmission, Inc. (WBI Energy) between Mapleton, North Dakota and 
Felton, Minnesota. 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 December 23, 2016.
    If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the 
opening of this docket on October 17, 2016, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. PF16-10-000 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 planned 
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 planned 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.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). 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.

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 [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 Web site (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 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.'' 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 
(PF16-10-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426.

Summary of the Planned Project

    WBI Energy plans to construct 38 miles of new bidirectional 16-
inch-diameter pipeline between Mapleton, North Dakota and Felton, 
Minnesota. Additionally, WBI Energy would construct a new 2,600-
horsepower electric-driven compressor station in Clay County, 
Minnesota, a metering station, farm taps, valve settings, and ancillary 
facilities. Finally, WBI Energy would increase the maximum allowable 
operating pressure on a portion of its Line Section 24. According to 
WBI Energy, the project would provide an additional 40 million cubic 
feet per day of firm transportation on its system.
    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 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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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the project would affect a total of about 530 acres 
of land, including the pipeline construction right-of-way, additional 
temporary workspace, staging areas, temporary and permanent access 
roads, and aboveground facilities. The total acreage required for 
operation of the project is approximately 235 acres, including the new 
permanent pipeline easement, permanent access roads, and permanent 
aboveground facilities' footprint.

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

[[Page 86708]]

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 planned project under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     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 possible alternatives to the planned project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Although no formal application has been filed, we have already 
initiated our NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing process. 
The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early involvement 
of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve issues before 
the FERC receives an application. As part of our pre-filing review, we 
have begun to contact some federal and state agencies to discuss their 
involvement in the scoping process and the preparation of the EA.
    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 we make 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 
related to 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 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 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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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the planned facilities and 
the environmental information provided by WBI Energy. This preliminary 
list of issues may change based on your comments and our analysis, but 
currently includes:
     Drain tiles;
     deep topsoil and poor quality subsoils (salinity/sodium or 
lime);
     prime farm land;
     federally listed species, including the whooping crane, 
gray wolf, Dakota skipper, northern long-eared bat, western prairie 
fringed orchid, and the powershiek skipperling;
     cultural resources; and
     crossing methods of the Rush River, Red River of the 
North, and the Buffalo River.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 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 planned 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

    Once WBI Energy files its application with the Commission, 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. Motions to intervene are more fully described at 
http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. Instructions 
for becoming an intervenor are in the ``Document-less Intervention 
Guide'' under the ``e-filing'' link on the Commission's Web site. 
Please note that the Commission will not accept requests for intervenor 
status at this time. You must wait until the Commission receives a 
formal application for the project.

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 (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., PF16-
10). 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

[[Page 86709]]

(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 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: November 23, 2016.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-28850 Filed 11-30-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 231 / Thursday, December 1, 2016 / Notices 86707

19831 has been transferred to 169 If you sent comments on this project a comment on a particular project,
Sunapee Street, LLC. The project is to the Commission before the opening of please select ‘‘Comment on a Filing’’ as
located on the Sugar River in Sullivan this docket on October 17, 2016, you the filing type; or
County, New Hampshire. The transfer of will need to file those comments in (3) You can file a paper copy of your
an exemption does not require Docket No. PF16–10–000 to ensure they comments by mailing them to the
Commission approval. are considered as part of this following address. Be sure to reference
2. 169 Sunapee Street, LLC is now the proceeding. the project docket number (PF16–10–
exemptee of the Sugar River 1 Project This notice is being sent to the 000) with your submission: Kimberly D.
No. 3320. All correspondence should be Commission’s current environmental Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
forwarded to: Mr. Ronald K. DeCola, mailing list for this project. State and Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
Manager, 169 Sunapee Street, LLC, 300 local government representatives should NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
River Road, Suite 110, Manchester, NH notify their constituents of this planned
03104, Phone: 603–289–2738, Email: project and encourage them to comment Summary of the Planned Project
rkd01@aol.com. on their areas of concern. WBI Energy plans to construct 38
Dated: November 23, 2016. If you are a landowner receiving this miles of new bidirectional 16-inch-
notice, a pipeline company diameter pipeline between Mapleton,
Kimberly D. Bose,
representative may contact you about North Dakota and Felton, Minnesota.
Secretary.
the acquisition of an easement to Additionally, WBI Energy would
[FR Doc. 2016–28848 Filed 11–30–16; 8:45 am] construct, operate, and maintain the construct a new 2,600-horsepower
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P planned facilities. The company would electric-driven compressor station in
seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable Clay County, Minnesota, a metering
agreement. However, if the Commission station, farm taps, valve settings, and
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY approves the project, that approval ancillary facilities. Finally, WBI Energy
Federal Energy Regulatory conveys with it the right of eminent would increase the maximum allowable
Commission domain. Therefore, if easement operating pressure on a portion of its
negotiations fail to produce an Line Section 24. According to WBI
[Docket No. PF16–10–000] agreement, the pipeline company could Energy, the project would provide an
initiate condemnation proceedings additional 40 million cubic feet per day
WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice where compensation would be of firm transportation on its system.
of Intent To Prepare an Environmental determined in accordance with state The general location of the project
Assessment for the Planned Valley law. facilities is shown in appendix 1.1
Expansion Project and Request for A fact sheet prepared by the FERC
Comments on Environmental Issues entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas Land Requirements for Construction
The staff of the Federal Energy Facility On My Land? What Do I Need Construction of the project would
Regulatory Commission (FERC or To Know?’’ is available for viewing on affect a total of about 530 acres of land,
Commission) will prepare an the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). This including the pipeline construction
environmental assessment (EA) that will fact sheet addresses a number of right-of-way, additional temporary
discuss the environmental impacts of typically asked questions, including the workspace, staging areas, temporary and
the Valley Expansion Project involving use of eminent domain and how to permanent access roads, and
construction and operation of facilities participate in the Commission’s aboveground facilities. The total acreage
by WBI Energy Transmission, Inc. (WBI proceedings. required for operation of the project is
Energy) between Mapleton, North approximately 235 acres, including the
Public Participation
Dakota and Felton, Minnesota. The new permanent pipeline easement,
Commission will use this EA in its For your convenience, there are three permanent access roads, and permanent
decision-making process to determine methods you can use to submit your aboveground facilities’ footprint.
whether the project is in the public comments to the Commission. The
Commission encourages electronic filing The EA Process
convenience and necessity.
This notice announces the opening of of comments and has expert staff The National Environmental Policy
the scoping process the Commission available to assist you at (202) 502–8258 Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to
will use to gather input from the public or efiling@ferc.gov. Please carefully take into account the environmental
and interested agencies on the project. follow these instructions so that your impacts that could result from an action
You can make a difference by providing comments are properly recorded. whenever it considers the issuance of a
us with your specific comments or (1) You can file your comments Certificate of Public Convenience and
concerns about the project. Your electronically using the eComment Necessity. NEPA also requires us 2 to
comments should focus on the potential feature on the Commission’s Web site discover and address concerns the
environmental effects, reasonable (www.ferc.gov) under the link to public may have about proposals. This
alternatives, and measures to avoid or Documents and Filings. This is an easy process is referred to as scoping. The
lessen environmental impacts. Your method for submitting brief, text-only main goal of the scoping process is to
input will help the Commission staff comments on a project;
determine what issues they need to (2) You can file your comments 1 The appendices referenced in this notice will

evaluate in the EA. To ensure that your electronically by using the eFiling not appear in the Federal Register. Copies of the
feature on the Commission’s Web site appendices were sent to all those receiving this
jstallworth on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

comments are timely and properly notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov
recorded, please send your comments so (www.ferc.gov) under the link to using the link called ‘‘eLibrary’’ or from the
that the Commission receives them in Documents and Filings. With eFiling, Commission’s Public Reference Room, 888 First
Washington, DC on or before December you can provide comments in a variety Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202)
of formats by attaching them as a file 502–8371. For instructions on connecting to
23, 2016. eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.
with your submission. New eFiling 2 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the
1 23 FERC ¶ 62,008, Notice of Exemption from users must first create an account by environmental staff of the Commission’s Office of
Licensing (1983). clicking on ‘‘eRegister.’’ If you are filing Energy Projects.

VerDate Sep<11>2014 15:02 Nov 30, 2016 Jkt 241001 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\01DEN1.SGM 01DEN1
Document Created: 2018-02-14 09:00:33
Document Modified: 2018-02-14 09:00:33
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		81 FR 86707
81 FR 86707 - WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned Valley Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 231 (December 1, 2016)

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
