2014-10316. Texas Eastern Transmission, LP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Uniontown to Gas City 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 Uniontown to Gas City Project (Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by Texas Eastern Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern) in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana. 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. Your input will help the Commission staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. Please note that the scoping period will close on May 29, 2014.

You may submit comments in written form or verbally. Further details on how to submit written comments are in the Public Participation section of this notice.

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.

Texas Eastern 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 Web site (www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

The purpose of the Project is to make new firm pipeline capacity available to transport production of five shippers that have executed precedent agreements with Texas Eastern. It would allow additional natural gas from the Appalachian production area to be transported to markets in the Midwest. This would be accomplished by modifying 23 existing aboveground facilities along Texas Eastern's system. These facilities include:

• In Greene County, Pennsylvania, modifications at the Waynesburg Compressor Station would include new sample lines at the 70009 meter and regulator (M&R) station and 70037 M&R station, a new gas chromatograph/electronic gas measurement (GC/EGM) building, removal of a deanalyzer building, and a new GC sample line at the Waynesburg Suction; new GC/EGM buildings at the 70020 and 73152 M&R station, and gas turbine modifications at the existing Holbrook Compressor Station;
• in Monroe County, Ohio, a new GC and Remote Terminal Units (RTU) at the 70983 and 70471 M&R Stations, and a new launcher/receiver and filter separator at the Berne Compressor Station;
• in Noble County, Ohio, a new launcher/receiver at the Summerfield Compressor Station, and new receiver on Somerset Line 65;
• in Perry County, Ohio, new launcher/receiver at the Coserset Compressor Station;
• in Fairfield County, Ohio, a new GC building at the 73715 and 70077 M&R Stations;
• in Pickaway County, Ohio, a new crossover and receiver at the Five Points Line 1, and gas turbine modifications at the Five Points Compressor Station;
• in Fayette County, Ohio, new receiver at the Lebanon Discharge Line 1 and new GC at the 70081 M&R Station;
• in Clinton County, Ohio, a new GC at the 73105 M&R Station;
• in Warren County, Ohio, gas turbine modifications at the Lebanon Compressor Station, a new GC building at 70041 M&R Station, reversal modifications at the 72945 M&R Station, a new GC/RTU building at 72908 M&R Station, and a new GC at 71353 M&R Station;
• in Darke County, Ohio, new RTU building at the 72902 M&R Station, and reverse compressor modifications at the Glen Karn Compressor Station; and
• in Grant County, Indiana, a new delivery meter station, and reverse compressor modifications at the Gas City Compressor Station.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.^[1]

Land Requirements for Construction

With the exception of the proposed 20-inch-diameter crossover pipeline located at the Five Points Line 1 in Pickaway County, Ohio, all of the proposed activities associated with the Project would take place within Texas Eastern's existing right-of-way. About 4.8 acres would be disturbed during construction at all the modified facilities combined within the existing right-of-way. The crossover at the Five Points Line 1 would disturb an additional 0.07 acre outside of the existing right-of-way.

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. The NEPA also requires us ^[2] 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.

In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the construction and operation of the proposed Project under these general headings:

• Geology and soils;
• land use;
• water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
• cultural resources;
• vegetation and wildlife;
• air quality and noise;
• endangered and threatened species;
• reliability; and
• public safety.

We will also evaluate 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. We will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendation to the Commission. To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public Participation section of this notice.

With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. 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.

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 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.^[3] We will define the Project-specific Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs as the project develops. On natural gas 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 on consultations under section 106.

Public Participation

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. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your comments are timely and properly recorded, please send in your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before May 29, 2014.

For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please reference the Project docket number (CP14-104-000) with your submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert eFiling staff available to assist you at [phone] or [e-mail].

(1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eComment feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an easy method for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a project;

(2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at 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.” You will be asked to select the type of filing you are making. A comment on a particular project is considered a “Comment on a Filing;” or

(3) You may 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.

Environmental Mailing List

The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; interested Indian 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 the EA is published for distribution, 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 compact disc 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 intervenor are included in the User's Guide under the “e-filing” link on the Commission's Web site.

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 Web site 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., CP14-104). 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 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 now 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 http://www.ferc.gov/​docs-filing/​esubscription.asp.

Finally, public meetings 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: April 29, 2014.

Kimberly D. Bose,

Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  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 [phone]. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice.

2.  “We”, “us”, and “our” refer to the environmental staff of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.

3.  The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic Places.