2017-00986. Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company; Notice of Application for Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

Take notice that on December 30, 2016 Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company (Eastern Shore), 1110 Forrest Avenue, Dover, Delaware 19904, filed in the above referenced docket an application pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and part 157 of the Commission's regulations, requesting a certificate of public convenience and necessity authorizing Eastern Shore to construct, own, operate and maintain the 2017 Expansion Project. The Project is designed to provide 61,162 dekatherms per day of additional firm transportation service to seven of Eastern Shore's existing customers. Eastern Shore proposes to construct seven segments of buried natural gas pipeline totaling approximately 39.6 miles with miscellaneous appurtenances in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Cecil County, Maryland, as well as New Castle and Sussex Counties, Delaware and install additional 3,750 horsepower at the existing Daleville Compressor Station in Chester County, Pennsylvania. Eastern Shore proposes incremental recourse rate, as more fully set forth in the application which is on file with the Commission and open to public inspection.

The filing may also be viewed on the web at http://www.ferc.gov using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail] or toll free at [phone], or TTY, contact [phone].

Any questions concerning this application may be directed to Mark Parker P.E., Engineering Manager, Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company 1110 Forrest Avenue, Dover, DE 19904 by phone [phone] use or by email [e-mail].

Specifically, Eastern Shore proposes (1) six 10-, 16-, and 24-inch-diameter pipeline loop segments totaling 22.7 miles, (2) 10-inch-diameter 16.9-mile-long mainline extension, (3) upgrades to an existing Meter and Regulator station and lateral piping at the existing interconnect with Texas Eastern in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, and (4) the addition of two pressure control stations in Sussex County, Delaware. Eastern Shore requests that the Commission issue the requested authorizations by May 2017 in order to meet November 1, 2017 in-service date requested by the project shippers who are local utility, power, and industrial manufacturing companies. The total cost of the Project is estimated to be approximately $98,578,673.

On May 17, 2016, the Commission staff granted Eastern Shore's request to utilize the Pre-Filing Process and assigned Docket No. PF16-7-000 to staff activities involved in the above referenced project. Now, as of the filing of the December 30, 2016 application, the Pre-Filing Process for this project has ended. From this time forward, this proceeding will be conducted in Docket No. CP17-28-000, as noted in the caption of this Notice.

Pursuant to section 157.9 of the Commission's rules, 18 CFR 157.9, within 90 days of this Notice the Commission staff will either: Complete its environmental assessment (EA) and place it into the Commission's public record (eLibrary) for this proceeding; or issue a Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review. If a Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review is issued, it will indicate, among other milestones, the anticipated date for the Commission staff's issuance of the EA for this proposal. The filing of the EA in the Commission's public record for this proceeding or the issuance of a Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review will serve to notify federal and state agencies of the timing for the completion of all necessary reviews, and the subsequent need to complete all federal authorizations within 90 days of the date of issuance of the Commission staff's EA.

There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of this project. First, any person wishing to obtain legal status by becoming a party to the proceedings for this project should, on or before the comment date stated below, file with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, a motion to intervene in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the Regulations under the NGA (18 CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary of the Commission and will receive copies of all documents filed by the applicant and by all other parties. A party must submit five copies of filings made with the Commission and must mail a copy to the applicant and to every other party in the proceeding. Only parties to the proceeding can ask for court review of Commission orders in the proceeding.

However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. The Commission will consider these comments in determining the appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of a comment alone will not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly involved in the protest.

Persons who wish to comment only on the environmental review of this project should submit an original and two copies of their comments to the Secretary of the Commission. Environmental commentors will be placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive copies of the environmental documents, and will be notified of meetings associated with the Commission's environmental review process. Environmental commentors will not be required to serve copies of filed documents on all other parties. However, the non-party commentors will not receive copies of all documents filed by other parties or issued by the Commission (except for the mailing of environmental documents issued by the Commission) and will not have the right to seek court review of the Commission's final order.

The Commission strongly encourages electronic filings of comments, protests and interventions in lieu of paper using the “eFiling” link at http://www.ferc.gov. Persons unable to file electronically should submit original and five copies of the protest or intervention to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426.

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on February 1, 2017.

Dated: January 11, 2017.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.