2022-08125. Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Applications and Establishing Intervention Deadline

Take notice that on March 28, 2022, Northern Natural Gas Company (Northern), 1111 South 103rd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124, filed an application pursuant to section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA), in Docket No. CP22-138-000, for authorization to construct and operate construct facilities associated with, and to own, and operate six segments of pipeline facilities totaling 9.38 miles, with appurtenances in Minnesota and Wisconsin to expand the capacity of the Northern Market. (“Northern Lights 2023 expansion”). The new construction of the pipeline will provide firm winter service up to 44,222 dekatherms per day (Dth/day) for residential, commercial, and industrial customer markets and 6,667 (Dth/day) of firm service for a local distribution company. Northern estimates the cost of the project to be $48,695,000 all as more fully set forth in the request which is on file with the Commission and open to public inspection with the Commission and open for public inspection.

In addition to publishing the full text of this document in the Federal Register , the Commission provides all interested persons an opportunity to view and/or print the contents of this document via the internet through the Commission's Home Page ( http://ferc.gov ) using the “eLibrary” link. Enter the docket number excluding the last three digits in the docket number field to access the document. At this time, the Commission has suspended access to the Commission's Public Reference Room, due to the proclamation declaring a National Emergency concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), issued by the President on March 13, 2020. For assistance, contact the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at [e-mail] or call toll-free, [phone] or TYY, [phone].

Any questions regarding Northern application may be directed to Michael T. Loeffler, Senior Director Certificates and External Affairs, Northern Natural Gas Company, P.O. Box 3330, Omaha, Nebraska 68103, by telephone at [phone] or by email at [e-mail].

Pursuant to Section 157.9 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure,^[1] within 90 days of this Notice the Commission staff will either: Complete its environmental review 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 final environmental impact statement (FEIS) or environmental assessment (EA) for this proposal. The filing of an 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 FEIS or EA.

Public Participation

There are three ways to become involved in the Commission's review of this project: You can file a protest to the project, you can file a motion to intervene in the proceeding, and you can file comments on the project. There is no fee or cost for filing protests, motions to intervene, or comments. The deadline for filing protests, motions to intervene, and comments is 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 2, 2022. How to file comments and motions to intervene is explained below.

Comments

Any person wishing to comment on the project may do so. The Commission considers all comments received about the project in determining the appropriate action to be taken. To ensure that your comments are timely and properly recorded, please submit your comments on or before May 2, 2022. However, the filing of a comment alone will not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. To become a party, you must intervene in the proceeding.

Persons who comment on the environmental review of this project will be placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, and will receive notification when the environmental documents (EA or EIS) are issued for this project and will be notified of meetings associated with the Commission's environmental review process.

Interventions

Any person, which includes individuals, organizations, businesses, municipalities, and other entities,^[2] has the option to file a motion to intervene in this proceeding. Only intervenors have the right to request rehearing of Commission orders issued in this proceeding and to subsequently challenge the Commission's orders in the U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal.

To intervene, you must submit a motion to intervene to the Commission in accordance with Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedure ^[3] and the regulations under the NGA ^[4] by the intervention deadline for the project, which is May 2, 2022. As described further in Rule 214, your motion to intervene must state, to the extent known, your position regarding the proceeding, as well as your interest in the proceeding. [For an individual, this could include your status as a landowner, ratepayer, resident of an impacted community, or recreationist. You do not need to have property directly impacted by the project in order to intervene.] For more information about motions to intervene, refer to the FERC website at https://www.ferc.gov/​resources/​guides/​how-to/​intervene.asp.

All timely, unopposed motions to intervene are automatically granted by operation of Rule 214(c)(1). Motions to intervene that are filed after the intervention deadline are untimely and may be denied. Any late-filed motion to intervene must show good cause for being late and must explain why the time limitation should be waived and provide justification by reference to factors set forth in Rule 214(d) of the Commission's Rules and Regulations. A person obtaining party status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary of the Commission and will receive copies (paper or electronic) of all documents filed by the applicant and by all other parties.

How To File Comments and Interventions

There are two ways to submit your comments and motions to intervene to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the Project docket number CP22-138-000 in your submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of submissions.

(1) You may file your comments or motions to intervene electronically by using the eFiling feature, which is located on the Commission's website ( www.ferc.gov ) under the link to Documents and Filings. New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on “eRegister.” You will be asked to select the type of filing you are making; first select “General” and then select “Comment on a Filing” or “Intervention”; or

(2) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to the following address below. Your written comments must reference the Project docket numbers (CP22-138-000).

To mail via USPS, use the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.

To mail via any other courier, use the following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

Motions to intervene must be served on the applicants either by mail or email (with a link to the document) at: Northern 1111 South 103rd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124 or at [e-mail]. Any subsequent submissions by an intervenor must be served on the applicants and all other parties to the proceeding. Contact information for parties can be downloaded from the service list at the eService link on FERC Online. Service can be via email with a link to the document.

All timely, unopposed ^[5] motions to intervene are automatically granted by operation of Rule 214(c)(1).^[6] Motions to intervene that are filed after the intervention deadline are untimely, and may be denied. Any late-filed motion to intervene must show good cause for being late and must explain why the time limitation should be waived and provide justification by reference to factors set forth in Rule 214(d) of the Commission's Rules and Regulations.^[7] A person obtaining party status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary of the Commission and will receive copies (paper or electronic) of all documents filed by the applicant and by all other parties.

Tracking the Proceeding

Throughout the proceeding, additional information about the projects will be 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 as described above. 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 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. For more information and to register, go to www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​esubscription.asp.

Intervention Deadline: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 2, 2022.

Dated: April 11, 2022.

Debbie-Anne A. Reese,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  18 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) 157.9.

2.  18 CFR 385.102(d).

3.  18 CFR 385.214.

4.  18 CFR 157.10.

5.  The applicant has 15 days from the submittal of a motion to intervene to file a written objection to the intervention.

6.  18 CFR 385.214(c)(1).

7.  18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and (d).