2013-26030. Sierrita Gas Pipeline LLC; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Sierrita Pipeline Project

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Sierrita Pipeline Project (Project), proposed by Sierrita Gas Pipeline LLC (Sierrita) in the above-referenced docket. Sierrita requests authorization to link El Paso Natural Gas Company's existing South Mainline System near Tucson to an interconnect with the Sásabe-Guaymas Pipeline at the U.S.-Mexico border near the town of Sasabe, Arizona.

The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval of the Project would have some adverse environmental impacts; however, these impacts would be reduced to less-than-significant levels with the implementation of Sierrita's proposed mitigation and the additional measures recommended in the draft EIS.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)—Arizona Ecological Services Office; the FWS—Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge; the Arizona Game and Fish Department; and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EIS. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to resources potentially affected by the proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. Although the cooperating agencies provided input to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the draft EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions and recommendations in their respective Records of Decision for the Project.

The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the following Project facilities:

• Approximately 60.5 miles of 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline in Pima County, Arizona;
• two meter stations;
• two pig launchers and two pig receivers; ^[1] and

• six mainline valves.

The FERC staff mailed copies of the draft EIS to federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested individuals and groups; newspapers and libraries in the Project area; and parties to this proceeding. Paper copy versions of this EIS were mailed to those specifically requesting them; all others received a CD version. In addition, the draft EIS is available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies are available for distribution and public inspection at:

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, [phone].

Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so. To ensure consideration of your comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is important that the Commission receive your comments before December 16, 2013.

For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the Project docket numbers (CP13-73-000 and CP13-74-000) with your submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert staff available to assist you at [phone] or efiling @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 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: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

(4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the Commission invites you to attend one of the public comment meetings its staff will conduct in the Project area to receive comments on the draft EIS. We encourage interested groups and individuals to attend and present oral comments on the draft EIS. Transcripts of the meetings will be available for review in eLibrary under the Project docket number. The meetings are scheduled as follows:

Date and time	Location
Thursday, December 12, 2013, 6:00 pm local time	Robles Elementary School Cafeteria, 9875 South Sasabe Road, Tucson, AZ 85735.
Saturday, December 14, 2013, 10:00 am local time 2	San Fernando Elementary School, 1 Schoolhouse Drive, Sasabe, AZ 85633.

Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR Part 385.214).^[3] Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision. The Commission grants affected landowners and others with environmental concerns intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which no other party can adequately represent. Simply filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.

Questions?

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., CP13-73 and CP13-74). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FercOnline [e-mail] or toll free at [phone]; for TTY, contact [phone]. 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 that 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/​esubscribenow.htm.

Dated: October 25, 2013.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  A pig is an internal tool that can be used to clean and dry a pipeline and/or to inspect it for damage or corrosion.

2.  A Spanish-English translator will be provided at this meeting.

3.  See the previous discussion on the methods for filing comments.