82 FR 23230 - National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Line YM28 & Line FM120 Modernization Project, and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 97 (May 22, 2017)
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 97 (May 22, 2017)
| Page Range | 23230-23234 | |
| FR Document | 2017-10379 |
[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 97 (Monday, May 22, 2017)] [Notices] [Pages 23230-23234] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2017-10379] ======================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission [Docket No. CP17-74-000] National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Line YM28 & Line FM120 Modernization 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 Line YM28 & Line FM120 Modernization Project (Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (National Fuel) in Cameron, Elk, and McKean Counties, Pennsylvania. 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 [[Page 23231]] comments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before June 15, 2017. If you sent comments on this Project to the Commission before the opening of this docket on March 10, 2017, you will need to file those comments in Docket No. CP17-74-000 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. National Fuel 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). 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 (CP17-74-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Summary of the Proposed Project National Fuel proposes to construct, operate, and abandon various facilities in connection with its proposed Line YM28 & Line FM120 Modernization Project located in Cameron, Elk, and McKean Counties, Pennsylvania. According to National Fuel, the Project would enhance the reliability and safety of the National Fuel system for distribution markets, storage, and local production. National Fuel states it would continue to provide the transportation services performed by the abandoned facilities, and that the Project would offer better connectivity for storage and transportation services to National Fuel's backbone transmission pipeline (Line K). The Project would consist of the following:Approximately 14.4 miles of new 12-inch-diameter pipeline installed within existing rights-of-way in McKean County (designated Line KL); approximately 5.8 miles of new 6-inch-diameter pipeline installed via insertion into the existing 12-inch-diameter FM120 pipeline in McKean and Elk Counties; abandonment in place of approximately 7.7 miles of the existing Line YM28 in McKean County; approximately 12.5 miles of Line FM120 removed from service in McKean, Elk, and Cameron Counties; removal and relocation of a meter set to the proposed Line KL; and ancillary facilities including a new interconnect in McKean County and miscellaneous valve and piping modifications along pipeline routes. The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\1\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \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 page 6 of this notice. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Land Requirements for Construction Construction of the proposed pipeline and aboveground facilities would disturb about 219 acres of land. Following construction, National Fuel would maintain about 132 acres for permanent operation of the project's facilities; the remaining acreage would be restored and revert to former uses. The majority of the proposed Line KL route and the replacement/abandonment portions of the Project would parallel existing pipeline, utility, or road rights-of-way. 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \2\ We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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: Geology and soils; land use; water resources, fisheries, and wetlands; vegetation and wildlife; endangered and threatened species; cultural resources; air quality and noise; 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 [[Page 23232]] 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 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1501.6. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Office (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 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Document- less Intervention Guide under the e-filing link on the Commission's Web site. Motions to intervene are more fully described at http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. 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., CP17- 74). 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 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 sessions 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: May 16, 2017. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. BILLING CODE 6717-01-P [[Page 23233]] Appendix 1 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22MY17.030 [[Page 23234]] Appendix 2 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TN22MY17.031 [FR Doc. 2017-10379 Filed 5-19-17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-C
![23230 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 97 / Monday, May 22, 2017 / Notices
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VI. Award Administration Information
educational policy and practice; and the search feature at this site, you can limit
1. Award Notices: If your application use of digital learning tools, resources, your search to documents published by
is successful, we notify your U.S. and services to improve educational the Department.
Representative and U.S. Senators and policy and practice.
send you a Grant Award Notification Dated: May 17, 2017.
Projects funded under this
(GAN); or we may send you an email competition are required to submit data Ruth E. Ryder,
containing a link to access an electronic on these measures as directed by OSEP. Deputy Director, Office of Special Education
version of your GAN. We may notify Grantees will be required to report Programs, delegated the duties of the
you informally, also. information on their project’s Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
If your application is not evaluated or Rehabilitative Services.
performance in annual and final
not selected for funding, we notify you. performance reports to the Department [FR Doc. 2017–10450 Filed 5–19–17; 8:45 am]
2. Administrative and National Policy (34 CFR 75.590). BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
Requirements: We identify 5. Continuation Awards: In making a
administrative and national policy continuation award under 34 CFR
requirements in the application package 75.253, the Secretary considers, among DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
and reference these and other other things: Whether a grantee has
requirements in the Applicable made substantial progress in achieving Federal Energy Regulatory
Regulations section of this notice. the goals and objectives of the project; Commission
We reference the regulations outlining whether the grantee has expended funds [Docket No. CP17–74–000]
the terms and conditions of an award in in a manner that is consistent with its
the Applicable Regulations section of approved application and budget; and, National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation;
this notice and include these and other if the Secretary has established Notice of Intent To Prepare an
specific conditions in the GAN. The performance measurement Environmental Assessment for the
GAN also incorporates your approved requirements, the performance targets in Proposed Line YM28 & Line FM120
application as part of your binding the grantee’s approved application. Modernization Project, and Request for
commitments under the grant. In making a continuation award, the Comments on Environmental Issues
3. Reporting: (a) If you apply for a Secretary also considers whether the
grant under this competition, you must grantee is operating in compliance with The staff of the Federal Energy
ensure that you have in place the the assurances in its approved Regulatory Commission (FERC or
necessary processes and systems to application, including those applicable Commission) will prepare an
comply with the reporting requirements to Federal civil rights laws that prohibit environmental assessment (EA) that will
in 2 CFR part 170 should you receive discrimination in programs or activities discuss the environmental impacts of
funding under the competition. This receiving Federal financial assistance the Line YM28 & Line FM120
does not apply if you have an exception from the Department (34 CFR 100.4, Modernization Project (Project)
under 2 CFR 170.110(b). 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). involving construction and operation of
(b) At the end of your project period, facilities by National Fuel Gas Supply
you must submit a final performance VII. Other Information Corporation (National Fuel) in Cameron,
report, including financial information, Accessible Format: Individuals with Elk, and McKean Counties,
as directed by the Secretary. If you disabilities can obtain this document Pennsylvania. The Commission will use
receive a multi-year award, you must and a copy of the application package in this EA in its decision-making process
submit an annual performance report an accessible format (e.g., braille, large to determine whether the Project is in
that provides the most current print, audiotape, or compact disc) by the public convenience and necessity.
performance and financial expenditure contacting the Management Support This notice announces the opening of
information as directed by the Secretary Services Team, U.S. Department of the scoping process the Commission
under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., will use to gather input from the public
may also require more frequent Room 5113, Potomac Center Plaza, and interested agencies on the Project.
performance reports under 34 CFR Washington, DC 20202–2500. You can make a difference by providing
75.720(c). For specific requirements on Telephone: (202) 245–7363. If you use a us with your specific comments or
reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/ TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll free, at concerns about the Project. Your
mstockstill on DSK30JT082PROD with NOTICES
fund/grant/apply/appforms/ 1–800–877–8339. comments should focus on the potential
appforms.html. Electronic Access to This Document: environmental effects, reasonable
4. Performance Measures: Under the The official version of this document is alternatives, and measures to avoid or
Government Performance and Results the document published in the Federal lessen environmental impacts. Your
Act of 1993 (GPRA), the Department has Register. Free internet access to the input will help the Commission staff
established a set of performance official edition of the Federal Register determine what issues they need to
measures, including long-term and the Code of Federal Regulations is evaluate in the EA. To ensure that your
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Document Created: 2018-11-08 08:51:14
Document Modified: 2018-11-08 08:51:14
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