2023-03306. Texas Eastern Transmission, LP; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Appalachia to Market II and Entriken Replacement Project

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the Appalachia to Market II and Entriken HP Replacement Project (Project) proposed by Texas Eastern Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern) in the above-referenced docket. Texas Eastern proposes to construct, operate, and maintain the Line 28 Loop, consisting of 2 miles of 36-inch-diameter looping ^[1] pipeline; a new receiver, valve, and crossover site; a 27,000 horsepower (hp) electric motor driven (EMD) compressor unit and associated buildings and piping at the Armagh Compressor Station; construct a 24,000 hp EMD compressor unit and associated buildings and piping at the Entriken Compressor Station. The Project would be located in Huntington, Indiana and Lebanon counties, Pennsylvania, and would allow Texas Eastern to provide up to 55,000 Dth/d of firm natural gas transportation service from the Appalachian supply basin in Southwest Pennsylvania to delivery points in New Jersey.

The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. With the exception of climate change impacts, FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed project, with the mitigation measures recommended in the EA, would not result in significant environmental impacts. Climate change impacts are not characterized in the EA as significant or insignificant because the Commission is conducting a generic proceeding to determine whether and how the Commission will conduct significant determinations going forward.^[2] The EA also concludes that no system, route, or other alternative would meet the Project objective while providing a significant environmental advantage over the Project as proposed.

The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Appalachia to Market II and Entriken HP Replacement Project 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; and newspapers and libraries in the Project area. The EA is only available in electronic format. It may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website ( www.ferc.gov), on the natural gas environmental documents page ( https://www.ferc.gov/​industries-data/​natural-gas/​environment/​environmental-documents). In addition, the EA may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link ( https://elibrary.ferc.gov/​eLibrary/​search) select “General Search” and enter the docket number in the “Docket Number” field ( i.e., CP22-486). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [e-mail] or toll free at [phone], or for TTY, contact [phone].

The EA is not a decision document. It presents Commission staff's independent analysis of the environmental issues for the Commission to consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this proceeding. Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. Your comments should focus on the EA's disclosure and discussion of potential environmental effects, measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts and the completeness of the submitted alternatives, information and analyses. The more specific your comments, the more useful they would be. To ensure that the Commission has the opportunity to consider your comments prior to making its decision on this project, it is important that we receive your comments in Washington, DC on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on March 13, 2023.

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 staff available to assist you at [phone] or [e-mail]. 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 FERC Online. 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 FERC Online. 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 Commission. Be sure to reference the Project docket number (CP22-486-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered. Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of the Commission's decision. At this point in this proceeding, the timeframe for filing timely intervention requests has expired. Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene out-of-time pursuant to Rule 214(b)(3) and (d) of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and (d)) and show good cause why the time limitation should be waived. Motions to intervene are more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/​how-intervene.

Additional information about the Project is available from the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the FERC website ( www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. The eLibrary link also provides access to the texts of all 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 https://www.ferc.gov/​ferc-online/​overview to register for eSubscription.

Dated: February 10, 2023.

Debbie-Anne A. Reese,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  A pipeline loop is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to an existing pipeline to increase capacity.

2.  Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas Infrastructure Project Reviews, 178 FERC ¶ 61,108 (2022); 178 FERC ¶ 61,197 (2022).