Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 28 / Friday, February 12, 2021 / Notices 9331 

1 85 FR 88 (Jan. 2, 2020). 

2Only motions to intervene from entities that 

were party to the underlying proceeding will be 

accepted. Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 

FERC 61,144, at P 39 (2020). 3Contested proceedings are those where an 

intervenor disputes any material issue of the filing. 

18 CFR 385.2201(c)(1) (2020). 4Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC 

61,144, at P 40 (2020). 5 Id. P 40. 6Similarly, the Commission will not re-litigate 

the issuance of an NGA section 3 authorization, 

including whether a proposed project is not 

inconsistent with the public interest and whether 

the Commission’s environmental analysis for the 

permit order complied with NEPA. 

constitute a major federal action that 

would significantly affect the quality of 

the human environment. 

The Commission provides all 

interested persons with an opportunity 

to view and/or print the EA via the 

internet through the Commission’s 

Home Page (http://www.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 FERC 

Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or tollfree at (866) 208–3676, or for TTY, (202) 

502–8659. 

You may also register online at 

https://ferconline.ferc.gov/ 

eSubscription.aspx to be notified via 

email of new filings and issuances 

related to this or other pending projects. 

For assistance, contact FERC Online 

Support. 

Any comments should be filed within 

30 days from the date of this notice. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filings. Please file comments 

using the Commission’s eFiling system 

at https://ferconline.ferc.gov/ 

eFiling.aspx. Commenters can submit 

brief comments up to 6,000 characters, 

without prior registration, using the 

eComment system at https://

ferconline.ferc.gov/ 

QuickComment.aspx. You must include 

your name and contact information at 

the end of your comments. For 

assistance, please contact FERC Online 

Support. In lieu of electronic filing, you 

may submit a paper copy. 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. The first 

page of any filing should include docket 

number P–2814–025. 

For further information, contact Chris 

Millard at (202) 502–8256 or by email at 

christopher.millard@ferc.gov. 

Dated: February 8, 2021. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02899 Filed 2–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP20–28–000] 

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Time 

Take notice that on February 3, 2021, 

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC 

(Columbia) requested that the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission 

(Commission) grant an extension of 

time, until October 31, 2021, to 

complete construction of the Line SM– 

116 Forced Relocation Project (Project) 

and make the Project available for 

service, as the Prior Notice authorized 

on February 25, 2020.1 The 

Commission’s regulations establish that 

the Project be completed within one 

year of the date the Project was 

authorized. 

The Project consists of the relocation 

and/or abandonment of segments of 

Columbia’s existing Line SM–116 due to 

highwall and area surface mining to be 

performed by Central Appalachian 

Mining on their Millseat Surface Mine. 

The relocation and/or abandonment 

activities will take place in Mingo 

County, West Virginia. Columbia stated 

in the Prior Notice application that the 

new Project infrastructure will have an 

equivalent designed delivery capacity as 

the facilities being abandoned and will 

not result in a reduction or 

abandonment of service. 

In its Extension of Time request, 

Columbia stated that the contractor will 

not be able to meet the original inservice date because the Project has 

experienced significant delays due to 

rainfall on the site which delayed 

construction and created safety 

concerns for the personnel in traversing 

the construction work area safely. 

Additionally, the construction schedule 

was negatively impacted by the COVID– 

19 pandemic. 

This notice establishes a 15-calendar 

day intervention and comment period 

deadline. Any person wishing to 

comment on the extension motion may 

do so. No reply comments or answers 

will be considered. If you wish to obtain 

legal status by becoming a party to the 

proceedings for this request, you 

should, on or before the comment date 

stated below, file a motion to intervene 

in accordance with the requirements of 

the Commission’s Rules of Practice and 

Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) 

and the Regulations under the Natural 

Gas Act (18 CFR 157.10).2

As a matter of practice, the 

Commission itself generally acts on 

requests for extensions of time to 

complete construction for NGA facilities 

when such requests are contested before 

order issuance. For those extension 

requests that are contested,3 the 

Commission acting as a whole will aim 

to issue an order acting on the request 

within 45 days.4 The Commission will 

address all arguments relating to 

whether the applicant has demonstrated 

there is good cause to grant the 

extension.5 The Commission will not 

consider arguments that re-litigate the 

issuance of the Certificate Order, 

including whether the Commission 

properly found the project to be in the 

public convenience or necessity and 

whether the Commission’s 

environmental analysis for the 

certificate complied with the National 

Environmental Policy Act.6 At the time 

a pipeline requests an extension of time, 

orders on certificates of public 

convenience and/or necessity are final 

and the Commission will not re-litigate 

their issuance. The OEP Director, or his 

or her designee, will act on all those 

extension requests that are uncontested. 

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 COVID–19, 

issued by the President on March 13, 

2020. For assistance, contact FERC at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call 

toll-free, (886) 208–3676 or TYY, (202) 

502–8659. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filings of comments, protests 

9332 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 28 / Friday, February 12, 2021 / Notices 

and interventions in lieu of paper using 

the ‘‘eFile’’ link at http://www.ferc.gov. 

Persons unable to file electronically may 

mail similar pleadings to the Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 

First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426. 

Hand delivered submissions in 

docketed proceedings should be 

delivered to Health and Human 

Services, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, 

Rockville, Maryland 20852. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021. 

Dated: February 8, 2021. 

Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr., 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–02898 Filed 2–11–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–R06–OW–2020–0608; FRL–10019–98– 

Region 6] 

Approval of the Application by the 

State of Texas for Partial National 

Pollutant Discharge Elimination 

System (NPDES) Program 

Authorization for Oil and Gas 

Discharges 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: On January 15, 2021, the 

Regional Administrator for the United 

States Environmental Protection Agency 

(EPA), Region 6 approved the request of 

the State of Texas’ for Partial National 

Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 

(NPDES) program authorization for 

discharges from produced water, 

hydrostatic test water and gas plant 

effluent, hereafter referred to as oil and 

gas discharges, within the State of 

Texas. On October 12, 2020, the 

Governor of Texas submitted the 

application for NPDES oil and gas 

authorization, seeking approval for the 

Texas Commission on Environmental 

Quality (TCEQ) to implement a Major 

Category Partial NPDES Program as 

provided for under the Clean Water Act 

(CWA or ‘‘the Act’’). Today, the EPA is 

providing public notice of the approval 

of the State’s submittal of the 

application for NPDES oil and gas 

authorization. 

DATES: Pursuant to 40 CFR part 

123.61(c), the Partial NPDES Program of 

the State of Texas was approved and 

became effective January 15, 2021. 

To View and/or Obtain Copies of 

Documents. A copy of the application 

and related documents may be viewed 

or downloaded, at no cost, from the EPA 

website at https://www.epa.gov/npdespermts. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Kilty Baskin, EPA Region 6 Office, 

NPDES/Wetland Review Section (R6 

WD–PN), 214–665–7500, baskin.kilty@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

A. General Information 

1. Does this action apply to me? 

Entities potentially affected by this 

action include the regulated oil and gas 

community and citizens within the 

State of Texas. As of January 15, 2021, 

authority to implement the NPDES 

permitting, compliance monitoring and 

enforcement program for oil and gas 

activities in Texas transferred from the 

EPA to the TCEQ. The TCEQ’s authority 

applies on land within the State of 

Texas and extends 3.0 statute miles (1 

statute mile equals 5,280 feet) offshore 

into the Gulf of Mexico. The EPA retains 

jurisdiction for discharges more than 3 

statute miles offshore in the Gulf of 

Mexico. Thus, CWA oil and gas 

exploration and production related 

discharges in these waters remain 

subject to the EPA’s Outer Continental 

Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico General 

Permit (GMG290000). In addition, spills 

or releases of hydrocarbons subject to 

the Oil Pollution Act are not subject to 

the NPDES program. The EPA’s 

authority to address releases of 

hydrocarbons to waters of the United 

States under the Oil Pollution Act is not 

subject to the NPDES program and 

therefore cannot be delegated to states. 

The TCEQ will continue to refer 

incidents to EPA as the regulatory 

authority for the Oil Pollution Act. The 

TCEQ NPDES program does not apply 

in areas of Indian country as defined in 

18 U.S.C. 1151. The EPA retains 

jurisdiction over discharges in these 

areas. If you have any questions 

regarding the applicability of this action 

to a particular entity, please contact Ms. 

Kilty Baskin at 214–665–7500, 

baskin.kilty@epa.gov. 

2. What action is the EPA taking? 

The EPA is providing notice of the 

approval of the State of Texas’ request 

for partial NPDES program 

authorization for oil and gas discharges 

within the State. The Governor of Texas 

submitted the application for NPDES oil 

and gas authorization pursuant to 

Section 402(b) of the CWA, seeking 

approval for the TCEQ to implement a 

major category partial NPDES program 

under Section 402(n)(3) of the Act. In 

accordance with CWA Section 402(b), 

33 U.S.C. 1342(b), and NPDES 

regulations at 40 CFR part 123, the EPA 

shall approve a State’s application for 

program approval unless adequate 

authority does not exist as required by 

the CWA. 

3. What is the EPA’s authority for taking 

this action? 

CWA section 402 established the 

NPDES permitting program and gives 

the EPA authority to approve state 

NPDES programs. 33 U.S.C. 1342(b). 

CWA Section 402(n)(3) authorizes the 

EPA to approve a Major Category Partial 

Permit Program covering administration 

of a major category of discharges if ‘‘(A) 

such program represents a complete 

permit program and covers all of the 

discharges under the jurisdiction of a 

department or agency of the State; and 

(B) the Administrator determines that 

the partial program represents a 

significant and identifiable part of the 

State program required by subsection 

(b).’’ 33 U.S.C. 1342(n)(3). 

State Permit Program Approval: 

Section 402 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1342, 

created the NPDES program under 

which the EPA may issue permits 

authorizing the point source discharge 

of pollutants to waters of the United 

States under conditions required by the 

Act. CWA Section 402(b), 33 U.S.C. 

1342(b), provides that the EPA shall 

approve a State’s request to administer 

its own permit program provided the 

State has appropriate legal authority and 

a state program that meets the Act’s 

requirements. The regulatory 

requirements for state program 

submissions and for EPA state program 

approval are set forth in 40 CFR part 123 

(https://www.ecfr.gov/). 

Decision Process: Pursuant to 40 CFR 

123.61(b), the EPA must approve or 

disapprove Texas’ application for 

NPDES oil and gas authorization within 

90 days of receipt of a complete program 

submission, unless this review period is 

extended by mutual agreement between 

the EPA and the State pursuant to 40 

CFR 123.21(d). Under CWA § 402(b) 

and 40 CFR part 123, the State must 

show, among other things that it has the 

authority to issue permits that comply 

with the Act, authority to impose civil 

and criminal penalties for permit 

violations, and authority to ensure that 

the public is given notice and an 

opportunity for a hearing on each 

proposed permit. Once the State’s 

request for program approval is declared 

complete, the CWA and its 

implementing regulations require the 

EPA to provide notice of the State’s 

application and allow a comment period 

of at least 45 days during which the 

public may express their views on the 

proposed State program. The EPA’s 

public notice of the application must