82 FR 48309 - Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment and Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact for the Borrego Pipeline Presidential Permit Application Review, Webb County, Texas

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 199 (October 17, 2017)

The U.S. Department of State (Department) announces availability for public review and comment of the Draft Environmental Assessment (Draft EA) and the Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact for the Borrego Pipeline Presidential Permit Application (Preliminary FONSI). These documents evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of a proposed new pipeline at the U.S.- Mexico border in Webb County, Texas, by Borrego Crossing Pipeline, LLC (Borrego), a subsidiary of Howard Midstream Energy Partners, LLC (Howard Midstream).

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 199 (Tuesday, October 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 48309]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-22411]


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DEPARTMENT OF STATE

[Public Notice: 10163]


Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Assessment and 
Preliminary Finding of No Significant Impact for the Borrego Pipeline 
Presidential Permit Application Review, Webb County, Texas

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Notice of availability; solicitation of comments.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of State (Department) announces 
availability for public review and comment of the Draft Environmental 
Assessment (Draft EA) and the Preliminary Finding of No Significant 
Impact for the Borrego Pipeline Presidential Permit Application 
(Preliminary FONSI). These documents evaluate the potential 
environmental impacts of the construction, connection, operation, and 
maintenance of a proposed new pipeline at the U.S.- Mexico border in 
Webb County, Texas, by Borrego Crossing Pipeline, LLC (Borrego), a 
subsidiary of Howard Midstream Energy Partners, LLC (Howard Midstream).

DATES: The public comment period starts on October 13, 2017, and will 
end November 13, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the Draft EA and Preliminary FONSI may be 
submitted at www.regulations.gov by entering [DOS-2017-0039] or the 
title of this Notice into the search field and following the prompts. 
Comments may also be submitted by mail, addressed to: Jill Reilly, 
Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary Issues (OES/EQT): 
Suite 2726, U.S. Department of State, 2201 C Street NW., Washington, DC 
20520. All comments from agencies or organizations should indicate a 
contact person for the agency or organization.
    The Department invites the public, governmental agencies, tribal 
governments, and all other interested parties to provide comments on 
the Draft EA and Preliminary FONSI during the 30-day public comment 
period. All comments received during the review period may be made 
public, no matter how initially submitted. Comments are not private and 
will not be edited to remove identifying or contact information. 
Commenters are cautioned against including any information that they 
would not want publicly disclosed.
    Any party soliciting or aggregating comments from other persons is 
further requested to direct those persons not to include any 
identifying or contact information, or information they would not want 
publicly disclosed, in their comments.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Reilly, (202) 647-9798, 
[email protected]. Project details for the Borrego Pipeline and copies 
of the Presidential permit application, as well as information on the 
Presidential permit process are available at the following: https://www.state.gov/e/enr/applicant/applicants/borregopipeline/index.htm. 
Please refer to this Web site or contact the Department at the address 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department reviews Presidential permit 
applications under Executive Order (E.O.) 13337 and E.O. 14432. E.O. 
13337 delegates to the Secretary of State the President's authority to 
receive applications for permits for the construction, connection, 
operation, or maintenance of facilities for the exportation or 
importation of petroleum, petroleum products, coal, or other fuels 
(except for natural gas), at the borders of the United States, and to 
issue or deny such Presidential permits upon a national interest 
determination.
    On August 12, 2016, Borrego submitted an application to the 
Department. The application requests a new Presidential permit that 
would authorize the construction, connection, operation and maintenance 
of facilities at the United States-Mexico border (border facilities) 
for the export to Mexico of refined petroleum products (including 
gasoline, premium gasoline, ultra-low sulfur diesel [ULSD] and jet 
fuels). The petroleum products would be transported through the new 
pipeline between a terminal in Laredo, Texas, and the existing Nuevo 
Laredo Terminal in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
    The Draft EA and Preliminary FONSI were prepared consistent with 
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 (42 U.S.C. Section 
4321, et seq.), the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality 
(CEQ) (40 CFR part 1500-1508), and the Department's implementing 
regulations (22 CFR part 161).
    Availability of the Draft EA and Preliminary FONSI: Copies of the 
Draft EA and Preliminary FONSI have been distributed to state and 
Federal agencies, tribal governments and other interested parties. 
Printed copies of the document may be obtained by visiting the Main 
Laredo Public Library, 1120 E. Calton Road, Laredo, Texas, 78041, or by 
contacting the Borrego Project Manager at the above address. They are 
also available at https://www.state.gov/e/enr/applicant/applicants/borregopipeline/index.htm.

Sezaneh Seymour,
Acting Director, Office of Environmental Quality and Transboundary 
Issues, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2017-22411 Filed 10-13-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4710-09-P