2015-30472. National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation Empire Pipeline, Inc.; Supplemental Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Northern Access 2016 Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

On October 22, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issued in Docket No. PF14-18-000 a Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned Northern Access 2016 Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings (October 22, 2014 NOI). In their application in Docket No. CP15-115-000, National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (Supply) and Empire Pipeline, Inc. (Empire) (collectively referred to as National Fuel) filed proposed locations for one new compressor station and one natural gas dehydration facility in Niagara County, New York. To solicit comments on the new proposed aboveground facilities, on April 29, 2015, the Commission issued a Supplemental Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Northern Access 2016 Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, Notice of Environmental Site Review, and Notice of Public Scoping Meeting (April 29, 2015 NOI). Based on public input received throughout the scoping process, National Fuel now proposes a new location for its new compressor station and has made other modifications to its proposed facilities in an amendment application in Docket No. CP15-115-001. This Supplemental Notice is being issued to seek comments on these changes, and opens a new 30-day scoping period for interested parties to file comments on environmental issues specific to these facilities.

The October 22, 2014 NOI announced that the FERC will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) to address the environmental impacts of the Northern Access 2016 Project (Project). Please refer to the NOI for more information about the facilities proposed by National Fuel in Pennsylvania and New York. The Commission will use the EA in its decision-making process to determine whether to authorize the Project.

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. Your input will help Commission staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. To ensure your comments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before December 19, 2015.

The Commission previously solicited input on the pipeline portion of the project in Pennsylvania and New York in the fall of 2014. In addition, the Commission solicited input on the aboveground facilities in Niagara County in the spring of 2015. If you have previously submitted comments during the pre-filing review in docket no. PF14-18-000 or since the application filing in docket no. CP15-115-000, you do not need to resubmit your comments at this time. We ^[1] are specifically seeking comments on the new proposed location of the Pendleton Compressor Station and additional modifications associated with National Fuel's amended application for the Project.

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.

National Fuel 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).

Public Participation

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 expert 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 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. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP15-115-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

Please note this is not your only public input opportunity; please refer to the review process flow chart in appendix 1.^[2]

Summary of the Newly Proposed Facilities

The facilities that are the focus of this notice are the new Pendleton Compressor Station (Killian Road Site) and an additional 2.07 miles of 16- and 14-inch diameter pipeline in the town of Pendleton, New York to connect the new Pendleton Compressor Station to the northward to the existing XM-10 pipeline and southward to the existing X-North Pipeline.

The tie-in between the southern end of Line XM-10 and National Fuel's X-North pipeline in Wheatfield, New York is no longer necessary due to the newly proposed Pendleton Compressor Station site. National Fuel previously proposed to abandon all 3.09 miles of the XM-10 Pipeline system in Wheatfield, New York and Pendleton, New York via sale to Empire. Based on the new location of the Pendleton Compressor Station, Empire would only acquire 1.08 miles of the XM-10 Pipeline system and associated facilities from National Fuel.

The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 2.

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. NEPA also requires us 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;
• Water resources and wetlands;
• Vegetation and wildlife, including migratory birds;
• Fisheries and aquatic resources;
• Threatened, endangered, and other special-status species;
• Land use, recreation, special interest areas, and visual resources;
• Socioeconomics;
• Cultural resources;
• Air quality and noise;
• Reliability and safety; and
• Cumulative environmental impacts.

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.

Please note that since the amended application has been filed, an additional docket number has been assigned (CP15-115-001) for the amended Project facilities. As part of our pre-filing review, we participated in public Open House meetings sponsored by National Fuel in the project area in August 2014 to explain the environmental review process to interested stakeholders. We also conducted public scoping meetings of along the proposed pipeline route in November 2014 and in Pendleton, New York in May 2015. We have also contacted federal and state agencies to discuss their involvement in the scoping process and the preparation of the EA.

The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. We will publish and distribute the EA for public comment. We will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public Participation section, beginning on page 2 of this notice.

With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues of this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA.^[3] 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. Currently, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and New York Department of Agriculture and Markets have expressed their intention to participate as cooperating agencies in the preparation of the EA to satisfy their NEPA responsibilities related to this project.

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 the applicable State Historic Preservation Offices (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.^[4] We will define the project-specific Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project develops. On natural gas facility 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 of consultations under section 106.

Environmental Mailing List

The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American 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.

Copies of the EA 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 CD version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please return the attached Information Request (appendix 3).

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 in the “Document-less Intervention Guide” under the “e-filing” link on the Commission's Web site. Motions to intervene are more fully described at http://www.ferc.gov/​resources/​guides/​how-to/​intervene.asp.

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., CP15-115). 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 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 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: November 19, 2015.

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

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

2.  The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in the Federal Register. Copies of the 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.

3.  The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 1501.6.

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