83 FR 2975 - Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 18-Inch Mainline Abandonment Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 14 (January 22, 2018)

Page Range		2975-2977
FR Document		2018-01016

Federal Register, Volume 83 Issue 14 (Monday, January 22, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 14 (Monday, January 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2975-2977]
From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01016]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP18-33-000]

Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 18-Inch Mainline
Abandonment 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 18-Inch Mainline Abandonment
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Florida
Gas Transmission Company, LLC (FGT) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. 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 February 12, 2018.
If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the
opening of this docket on December 18, 2017, you will need to file
those comments in Docket No. CP18-33-000 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.
FGT 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 website (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 FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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
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 website (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
(CP18-33-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary,
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A,
Washington, DC 20426.

[[Page 2976]]

Summary of the Proposed Project

FGT proposes to abandon in place a 1.3 mile portion of its 18-inch-
diameter mainline pipeline facilities in Miami-Dade County, Florida,
and remove an aerial span to accommodate a county road construction
project. FGT states it has not delivered gas through this section of
pipeline in more than three years and has no current customers served
by this section; however, it proposes to continue to maintain the
abandoned pipeline facilities for potential future use.
The 18-Inch Mainline Abandonment Project would consist of the
following activities:

--blow down \1\ from the Turkey Point take-off;
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\1\ A blow down is a controlled release of natural gas.
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--clean the pipeline by pig \2\ from milepost (MP) 919.0 to MP 924.9;
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\2\ A pig is a tool that the pipeline company inserts into and
pushes through the pipeline for cleaning the pipeline, conducting
internal inspections, or other purposes.
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--remove approximately 200 feet of the 18-inch-diameter mainline pipe,
including approximately 73 feet of aerial pipeline span which crosses
Miami-Dade County Cutler Drain Canal 100A parallel to the SW 136th
Street bridge in Miami;
--cut and cap the pipeline on each side of the canal; and
--fill with nitrogen and abandon in place the pipe and associated
valves from approximately MP 923.6 to MP 924.9.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.\3\
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\3\ 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

Removal of the facilities would disturb about 0.65 acre of land,
and an additional 1.5 acres would be used for a contractor yard.
Following construction, the disturbed areas would be restored and
revert to former uses. FGT states that it would continue to maintain
the right-of-way for the abandoned pipeline.

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
\4\ 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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\4\ 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 including, but
not limited to, the following resources: land use; water resources;
vegetation and wildlife; air quality and noise; and cultural resources.
We will also evaluate any 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. 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.\5\ 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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\5\ 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 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.\6\ 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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\6\ 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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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

[[Page 2977]]

intervenor are in the ``Document-less Intervention Guide'' under the
``e-filing'' link on the Commission's website. 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 website 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., CP18-
33). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov 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: January 12, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-01016 Filed 1-19-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2018 / Notices 2975

Filed Date: 1/12/18. Dated: January 16, 2018. representative may contact you about
Accession Number: 20180112–5161. Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., the acquisition of an easement to
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 2/2/18. Deputy Secretary. construct, operate, and maintain the
Docket Numbers: ER18–651–000. [FR Doc. 2018–01020 Filed 1–19–18; 8:45 am] proposed facilities. The company would
Applicants: Arizona Public Service BILLING CODE 6717–01–P seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable
Company. agreement. However, if the Commission
Description: § 205(d) Rate Filing: approves the project, that approval
OATT Collation Filing to be effective 1/ DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY conveys with it the right of eminent
12/2018. domain. Therefore, if easement
Federal Energy Regulatory negotiations fail to produce an
Filed Date: 1/12/18. Commission
Accession Number: 20180112–5184. agreement, the pipeline company could
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 2/2/18. [Docket No. CP18–33–000] initiate condemnation proceedings
where compensation would be
Docket Numbers: ER18–652–000. Florida Gas Transmission Company, determined in accordance with state
Applicants: PJM Interconnection, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an law.
L.L.C. Environmental Assessment for the
Description: Tariff Cancellation: FGT provided landowners with a fact
Proposed 18-Inch Mainline
Notice of Cancellation of ISA SA No. sheet prepared by the FERC entitled An
Abandonment Project and Request for
4666, Queue No. Z2–038 to be effective Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My
Comments on Environmental Issues
2/19/2018. Land? What Do I Need To Know? This
Filed Date: 1/16/18. The staff of the Federal Energy fact sheet addresses a number of
Accession Number: 20180116–5192. Regulatory Commission (FERC or typically asked questions, including the
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 2/6/18. Commission) will prepare an use of eminent domain and how to
environmental assessment (EA) that will participate in the Commission’s
Docket Numbers: ER18–653–000. discuss the environmental impacts of proceedings. It is also available for
Applicants: Southern California the 18-Inch Mainline Abandonment viewing on the FERC website
Edison Company. Project involving construction and (www.ferc.gov).
Description: Tariff Cancellation: operation of facilities by Florida Gas
Notice of Cancellation GIA & DSA SEPV Transmission Company, LLC (FGT) in Public Participation
Kennedy Project SA Nos. 953–954 to be Miami-Dade County, Florida. The
effective 2/5/2018. For your convenience, there are three
Commission will use this EA in its methods you can use to submit your
Filed Date: 1/16/18. decision-making process to determine
Accession Number: 20180116–5193. comments to the Commission. The
whether the project is in the public Commission encourages electronic filing
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 2/6/18. convenience and necessity. of comments and has expert staff
Take notice that the Commission This notice announces the opening of
available to assist you at (202) 502–8258
received the following public utility the scoping process the Commission
or FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. Please
holding company filings: will use to gather input from the public
carefully follow these instructions so
Docket Numbers: PH18–3–000. and interested agencies on the project.
that your comments are properly
Applicants: LS Power Development, You can make a difference by providing
recorded.
LLC. us with your specific comments or
concerns about the project. Your (1) You can file your comments
Description: LS Power Development,
comments should focus on the potential electronically using the eComment
LLC submits FERC 65–B Non-Material
environmental effects, reasonable feature on the Commission’s website
Change in Fact of Waiver Notification.
alternatives, and measures to avoid or (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Filed Date: 1/12/18.
lessen environmental impacts. Your Documents and Filings. This is an easy
Accession Number: 20180112–5193.
input will help the Commission staff method for submitting brief, text-only
Comments Due: 5 p.m. ET 2/2/18.
determine what issues they need to comments on a project;
The filings are accessible in the evaluate in the EA. To ensure that your (2) You can file your comments
Commission’s eLibrary system by comments are timely and properly
clicking on the links or querying the electronically by using the eFiling
recorded, please send your comments so feature on the Commission’s website
docket number. that the Commission receives them in (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Any person desiring to intervene or Washington, DC, on or before February
protest in any of the above proceedings Documents and Filings. With eFiling,
12, 2018. you can provide comments in a variety
must file in accordance with Rules 211 If you sent comments on this project
and 214 of the Commission’s of formats by attaching them as a file
to the Commission before the opening of with your submission. New eFiling
Regulations (18 CFR 385.211 and this docket on December 18, 2017, you
385.214) on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern users must first create an account by
will need to file those comments in clicking on eRegister. If you are filing a
time on the specified comment date. Docket No. CP18–33–000 to ensure they
Protests may be considered, but comment on a particular project, please
are considered as part of this select Comment on a Filing as the filing
intervention is necessary to become a proceeding.
party to the proceeding. type; or
This notice is being sent to the
eFiling is encouraged. More detailed Commission’s current environmental (3) You can file a paper copy of your
ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES

information relating to filing mailing list for this project. State and comments by mailing them to the
requirements, interventions, protests, local government representatives should following address. Be sure to reference
service, and qualifying facilities filings notify their constituents of this the project docket number (CP18–33–
can be found at: http://www.ferc.gov/ proposed project and encourage them to 000) with your submission: Kimberly D.
docs-filing/efiling/filing-req.pdf. For comment on their areas of concern. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
other information, call (866) 208–3676 If you are a landowner receiving this Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street
(toll free). For TTY, call (202) 502–8659. notice, a pipeline company NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

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2976 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 14 / Monday, January 22, 2018 / Notices

Summary of the Proposed Project Necessity. NEPA also requires us 4 to historic properties.6 We will define the
FGT proposes to abandon in place a discover and address concerns the project-specific Area of Potential Effects
1.3 mile portion of its 18-inch-diameter public may have about proposals. This (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as
mainline pipeline facilities in Miami- process is referred to as scoping. The the project develops. On natural gas
Dade County, Florida, and remove an main goal of the scoping process is to facility projects, the APE at a minimum
aerial span to accommodate a county focus the analysis in the EA on the encompasses all areas subject to ground
road construction project. FGT states it important environmental issues. By this disturbance (examples include
has not delivered gas through this notice, the Commission requests public construction right-of-way, contractor/
section of pipeline in more than three comments on the scope of the issues to pipe storage yards, compressor stations,
years and has no current customers address in the EA. We will consider all and access roads). Our EA for this
served by this section; however, it filed comments during the preparation project will document our findings on
proposes to continue to maintain the of the EA. the impacts on historic properties and
In the EA we will discuss impacts that summarize the status of consultations
abandoned pipeline facilities for
could occur as a result of the under section 106.
potential future use.
The 18-Inch Mainline Abandonment construction and operation of the
proposed project including, but not Environmental Mailing List
Project would consist of the following
limited to, the following resources: land The environmental mailing list
activities:
use; water resources; vegetation and includes federal, state, and local
—blow down 1 from the Turkey Point wildlife; air quality and noise; and government representatives and
take-off; cultural resources. We will also evaluate agencies; elected officials;
—clean the pipeline by pig 2 from
any reasonable alternatives to the environmental and public interest
milepost (MP) 919.0 to MP 924.9; proposed project or portions of the groups; Native American Tribes; other
—remove approximately 200 feet of the
project, and make recommendations on interested parties; and local libraries
18-inch-diameter mainline pipe,
how to lessen or avoid impacts on the and newspapers. This list also includes
including approximately 73 feet of
various resource areas. all affected landowners (as defined in
aerial pipeline span which crosses The EA will present our independent the Commission’s regulations) who are
Miami-Dade County Cutler Drain analysis of the issues. The EA will be potential right-of-way grantors, whose
Canal 100A parallel to the SW 136th available in the public record through property may be used temporarily for
Street bridge in Miami; eLibrary. Depending on the comments
—cut and cap the pipeline on each side project purposes, or who own homes
received during the scoping process, we within certain distances of aboveground
of the canal; and may also publish and distribute the EA
—fill with nitrogen and abandon in facilities, and anyone who submits
to the public for an allotted comment comments on the project. We will
place the pipe and associated valves
period. To ensure we have the update the environmental mailing list as
from approximately MP 923.6 to MP
opportunity to consider and address the analysis proceeds to ensure that we
924.9.
your comments, please carefully follow send the information related to this
The general location of the project the instructions in the Public environmental review to all individuals,
facilities is shown in appendix 1.3 Participation section, beginning on organizations, and government entities
Land Requirements for Construction page 2. interested in and/or potentially affected
With this notice, we are asking by the proposed project.
Removal of the facilities would agencies with jurisdiction by law and/
disturb about 0.65 acre of land, and an If we publish and distribute the EA,
or special expertise with respect to the copies will be sent to the environmental
additional 1.5 acres would be used for environmental issues of this project to
a contractor yard. Following mailing list for public review and
formally cooperate with us in the comment. If you would prefer to receive
construction, the disturbed areas would preparation of the EA.5 Agencies that
be restored and revert to former uses. a paper copy of the document instead of
would like to request cooperating the CD version or would like to remove
FGT states that it would continue to agency status should follow the
maintain the right-of-way for the your name from the mailing list, please
instructions for filing comments return the attached Information Request
abandoned pipeline. provided under the Public Participation (appendix 2).
The EA Process section of this notice.
Becoming an Intervenor
The National Environmental Policy Consultations Under Section 106 of the
Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to National Historic Preservation Act In addition to involvement in the EA
take into account the environmental scoping process, you may want to
In accordance with the Advisory become an ‘‘intervenor’’ which is an
impacts that could result from an action Council on Historic Preservation’s
whenever it considers the issuance of a official party to the Commission’s
implementing regulations for section proceeding. Intervenors play a more
Certificate of Public Convenience and 106 of the National Historic formal role in the process and are able
Preservation Act, we are using this to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be
1 A blow down is a controlled release of natural

gas.
notice to initiate consultation with the heard by the courts if they choose to
2 A pig is a tool that the pipeline company inserts applicable State Historic Preservation appeal the Commission’s final ruling.
into and pushes through the pipeline for cleaning Office (SHPO), and to solicit their views An intervenor formally participates in
the pipeline, conducting internal inspections, or and those of other government agencies, the proceeding by filing a request to
other purposes. interested Indian tribes, and the public intervene. Instructions for becoming an
ethrower on DSK3G9T082PROD with NOTICES

3 The appendices referenced in this notice will

not appear in the Federal Register. Copies of
on the project’s potential effects on
appendices were sent to all those receiving this 6 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s
4 We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff
notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov regulations are at Title 36, Code of Federal
using the link called eLibrary or from the of the Commission’s Office of Energy Projects. Regulations, part 800. Those regulations define
Commission’s Public Reference Room, 888 First 5 The Council on Environmental Quality historic properties as any prehistoric or historic
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502– regulations addressing cooperating agency district, site, building, structure, or object included
8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register
refer to the last page of this notice. Regulations, part 1501.6. of Historic Places.

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Document Created: 2018-01-23 21:35:27
Document Modified: 2018-01-23 21:35:27

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		83 FR 2975

83 FR 2975 - Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 18-Inch Mainline Abandonment Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGYFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 14 (January 22, 2018)

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission