Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 65383 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP23–516–000] 

East Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC; 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement for 

the Proposed Ridgeline Expansion 

Project Request for Comments on 

Environmental Issues, and Schedule 

for Environmental Review 

The staff of the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC or 

Commission) will prepare an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

that will discuss the environmental 

impacts of the Ridgeline Expansion 

Project (Project) involving construction 

and operation of facilities by East 

Tennessee Natural Gas, LLC (East 

Tennessee) in Trousdale, Smith, 

Jackson, Putnam, Overton, Fentress, 

Morgan, and Roane counties, Tennessee. 

The Commission will use this EIS in its 

decision-making process to determine 

whether the Project is in the public 

convenience and necessity. The 

schedule for preparation of the EIS is 

discussed in the Schedule for 

Environmental Review section of this 

notice. 

As part of the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) review process, the 

Commission takes into account 

concerns the public may have about 

proposals and the environmental 

impacts that could result whenever it 

considers the issuance of a Certificate of 

Public Convenience and Necessity. This 

gathering of public input is referred to 

as ‘‘scoping.’’ By notice issued on July 

22, 2022 in Docket No. PF22–7–000, the 

Commission opened a scoping period 

during East Tennessee’s planning 

process for the Project and prior to filing 

a formal application with the 

Commission, a process referred to as 

‘‘pre-filing.’’ East Tennessee has now 

filed an application with the 

Commission, and staff intends to 

prepare an EIS that will address the 

concerns raised during the pre-filing 

scoping process and comments received 

in response to this notice. By this 

notice, the Commission requests public 

comments on the scope of issues to 

address in the environmental document, 

including comments on potential 

alternatives and impacts, and any 

relevant information, studies, or 

analyses of any kind concerning impacts 

affecting the quality of the human 

environment. To ensure that your 

comments are timely and properly 

recorded, please submit your comments 

so that the Commission receives them in 

Washington, DC on or before 5:00 p.m. 

Eastern Time on October 18, 2023. 

Comments may be submitted in written 

form. Further details on how to submit 

comments are provided in the Public 

Participation section of this notice. 

As mentioned above, during the prefiling process, the Commission opened 

a scoping period which expired on 

October 20, 2022; however, Commission 

staff continued to accept comments 

during the entire pre-filing process. Staff 

also held three scoping sessions to take 

oral scoping comments. Those sessions 

were held in Kingston, Hartsville, and 

Cookeville, Tennessee on October 3, 4, 

and 5, 2022, respectively. All 

substantive written and oral comments 

provided during pre-filing will be 

addressed in the EIS. Therefore, if you 

submitted comments on this Project to 

the Commission during the pre-filing 

process in Docket No. PF22–7–000, you 

do not need to file those comments 

again. 

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 

easement agreement. You are not 

required to enter into an agreement. 

However, if the Commission approves 

the Project, the Natural Gas Act conveys 

the right of eminent domain to the 

company. Therefore, if you and the 

company do not reach an easement 

agreement, the pipeline company could 

initiate condemnation proceedings in 

court. In such instances, compensation 

would be determined by a judge in 

accordance with State law. The 

Commission does not grant, exercise, or 

oversee the exercise of eminent domain 

authority. The courts have exclusive 

authority to handle eminent domain 

cases; the Commission has no 

jurisdiction over these matters. 

East Tennessee 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?’’ which addresses typically 

asked questions, including the use of 

eminent domain and how to participate 

in the Commission’s proceedings. This 

fact sheet along with other landowner 

topics of interest are available for 

viewing on the FERC website 

(www.ferc.gov) under the Natural Gas, 

Landowner Topics link. 

Public Participation 

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 (866) 208–3676 or 

FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. Please 

carefully follow these instructions so 

that your comments are properly 

recorded. 

(1) You can file your comments 

electronically using the eComment 

feature, which is located on the 

Commission’s website (www.ferc.gov) 

under the link to FERC Online. Using 

eComment 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, which is located 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.’’ 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 can file a paper copy of your 

comments by mailing them to the 

Commission. Be sure to reference the 

project docket number (CP23–516–000) 

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. 

Additionally, the Commission offers a 

free service called eSubscription. This 

service provides automatic notification 

of filings made to subscribed dockets, 

document summaries, and direct links 

to the documents. Go to https://

www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to 

register for eSubscription. 

The Commission’s Office of Public 

Participation (OPP) supports meaningful 

public engagement and participation in 

Commission proceedings. OPP can help 

members of the public, including 

landowners, environmental justice 

communities, Tribal members and 

others, access publicly available 

information and navigate Commission 

processes. For public inquiries and 

assistance with making filings such as 

interventions, comments, or requests for 

rehearing, the public is encouraged to 

contact OPP at (202) 502–6595 or OPP@

ferc.gov. 


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65384 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 

1 In its Kingston Fossil Plant Retirement Draft 

Environmental Impact Statement (88 FR 32215). 

2The 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’’. For instructions on 

connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last page of this 

notice. At this time, the Commission has suspended 

access to the Commission’s Public Reference Room. 

For assistance, contact FERC at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or call toll free, (886) 

208–3676 or TTY (202) 502–8659. 

3The Council on Environmental Quality 

regulations addressing cooperating agency 

responsibilities are at Title 40 Code of Federal 

Regulations (CFR), Section 1501.8 (2021). 

4For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer 

to the last page of this notice. 

5 40 CFR 1508.1(z). 

6The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s 

regulations are at Title 36 CFR 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. 

Summary of the Proposed Project, the 

Project Purpose and Need, and 

Expected Impacts 

East Tennessee proposes to construct, 

modify, install, own, and operate 122 

miles of 30- and 24-inch-diameter 

pipeline in Trousdale, Smith, Jackson, 

Putnam, Overton, Fentress, Morgan, and 

Roane counties, Tennessee to deliver 

natural gas to the site of Tennessee 

Valley Authority’s (TVA) Kingston 

Fossil Plant (Kingston Plant). TVA is 

evaluating options to replace coal-fired 

generation with gas-fired generation at 

the Kingston Plant; including the option 

of constructing a single gas-fired 

combined cycle gas plant paired with 16 

dual-fuel aeroderivative combustion 

turbines at the same site.1 The Project 

would serve that option and provide 

about 300,000 dekatherms per day of 

new firm natural gas transportation 

capacity and up to 95,000 dekatherms of 

Customized Delivery Service (i.e., 

parking capability) from multiple 

providers to TVA to meet fluctuating 

peaking power demands. 

The Project would consist of the 

following facilities: 

• 110 miles of 30-inch-diameter 

mainline pipeline and approximately 4 

miles of 30-inch-diameter header 

pipeline (collectively referred to as the 

Mainline); 

• 8 miles of 24-inch-diameter lateral 

pipeline (Lateral) to connect to the 

Kingston Plant; 

• a new compressor station 

(Hartsville Compressor Station) 

consisting of two centrifugal compressor 

packages driven by electric motor drives 

rated to 7,300 horsepower (HP) for a 

total of 14,600 HP; 

• a new meter and regulating (M&R) 

station to receive gas from Columbia 

Gulf Transmission, LLC (Columbia 

Gulf); 

• modifications to two existing M&R 

stations to receive gas from Texas 

Eastern Transmission, LP (Texas 

Eastern) and Midwestern Gas 

Transmission Company (Midwestern 

Gas); 

• a new delivery meter station to 

measure gas delivered to the Kingston 

Plant; and 

• related appurtenances. 

The general location of the Project 

facilities is shown in appendix 1.2

Based on the environmental 

information provided by East 

Tennessee, construction of the proposed 

facilities would disturb about 2,514.5 

acres of land for the pipelines and 

aboveground facilities. Following 

construction, East Tennessee would 

maintain about 755.7 acres for operation 

of the Project facilities; the remaining 

acreage would be restored and revert to 

former uses. About 91 percent of the 

proposed pipeline route parallels the 

existing East Tennessee’s 3100 Line and 

an additional 1.8 miles of the proposed 

pipeline would be collocated with an 

existing power transmission right-ofway. 

Based on an initial review of East 

Tennessee’s proposal and public 

comments received during the pre-filing 

process, Commission staff have 

identified several expected impacts that 

deserve attention in the EIS. These 

include but are not limited to potential 

impacts on the Flynn Creek Impact 

Crater, Fort Blount, the Obed Wild & 

Scenic River and tributary crossings, 

socioeconomic and environmental 

justice concerns, water quality, 

threatened and endangered species, 

cultural resources, property values, 

safety concerns, and climate change. 

The NEPA Process and the EIS 

The EIS issued by the Commission 

will discuss impacts that could occur as 

a result of the construction and 

operation of the proposed Project under 

the relevant general resource areas: 

• geology and soils; 

• water resources and wetlands; 

• vegetation and wildlife; 

• threatened and endangered species; 

• cultural resources; 

• socioeconomics and environmental 

justice; 

• land use; 

• air quality and noise; and 

• reliability and safety. 

Commission staff will also make 

recommendations on how to lessen or 

avoid impacts on the various resource 

areas. Your comments will help 

Commission staff focus its analysis on 

the issues that may have a significant 

effect on the human environment. 

The EIS will present Commission 

staff’s independent analysis of the 

issues. The U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, and National Park 

Service are cooperating agencies in the 

preparation of the EIS.3 Staff will 

prepare a draft EIS which will be issued 

for public comment. Commission staff 

will consider all timely comments 

received during the comment period on 

the draft EIS and revise the document, 

as necessary, before issuing a final EIS. 

Any draft and final EIS will be available 

in electronic format in the public record 

through eLibrary 4 and the 

Commission’s natural gas 

environmental documents web page 

(https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/ 

natural-gas/environment/ 

environmental- documents). If 

eSubscribed, you will receive instant 

email notification when the 

environmental document is issued. 

Alternatives Under Consideration 

The EIS will evaluate reasonable 

alternatives that are technically and 

economically feasible and meet the 

purpose and need for the proposed 

action.5 Alternatives currently under 

consideration include: 

• the no-action alternative, meaning 

the Project is not implemented; 

• existing natural gas transportation 

system alternatives; 

• pipeline alternatives; and 

• aboveground facility alternatives. 

With this notice, the Commission 

requests specific comments regarding 

any additional potential alternatives to 

the proposed action or segments of the 

proposed action. Please focus your 

comments on reasonable alternatives 

(including alternative facility sites and 

pipeline routes) that meet the Project 

objectives, are technically and 

economically feasible, and avoid or 

lessen environmental impact. 

Consultation 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, the Commission is 

using this notice to initiate section 106 

consultation with the applicable State 

Historic Preservation Office(s), and 

other government agencies, interested 

Indian tribes, and the public to solicit 

their views and concerns regarding the 

Project’s potential effects on historic 

properties.6 The EIS will document 

findings on the impacts on historic 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 65385 

7The Commission’s deadline applies to the 

decisions of other Federal agencies, and state 

agencies acting under federally delegated authority, 

that are responsible for Federal authorizations, 

permits, and other approvals necessary for 

proposed projects under the Natural Gas Act. Per 

18 CFR 157.22(a), the Commission’s deadline for 

other agency’s decisions applies unless a schedule 

is otherwise established by Federal law. 

properties and summarize the status of 

consultations under section 106. 

Schedule for Environmental Review 

On July 28, 2023, the Commission 

issued its Notice of Application for the 

Project. Among other things, that notice 

alerted other agencies issuing Federal 

authorizations of the requirement to 

complete all necessary reviews and to 

reach a final decision on the request for 

a Federal authorization within 90 days 

of the date of issuance of the 

Commission staff’s final EIS for the 

Project. This notice identifies the 

Commission staff’s planned schedule for 

completion of the final EIS for the 

Project, which is based on an issuance 

of the draft EIS in February 2024. 

Issuance of Notice of Availability of the 

final EIS—September 20, 2024 

90-day Federal Authorization Decision 

Deadline 7—December 19, 2024 

If a schedule change becomes 

necessary for the final EIS, an additional 

notice will be provided so that the 

relevant agencies are kept informed of 

the Project’s progress. 

Permits and Authorizations 

The table below lists the anticipated 

permits and authorizations for the 

Project required under Federal law. This 

list may not be all-inclusive and does 

not preclude any permit or 

authorization if it is not listed here. 

Agencies with jurisdiction by law and/ 

or special expertise may formally 

cooperate in the preparation of the 

Commission’s EIS and may adopt the 

EIS to satisfy its NEPA responsibilities 

related to this Project. 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. 

Agency Permit 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ........................... Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity under Section 7(c) of the NGA. 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Nashville District ............. Authorization under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers 

and Harbors Act; Permission under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act 

(Section 408). 

Tennessee Valley Authority ............................................... Section 26a of the Tennessee Valley Authority Act Authorization. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Tennessee Field Office .... Consultation under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act, Bald and Golden 

Eagle Protection Act, and Migratory Bird Treaty Act. 

Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Water Division.Section 401 Water Quality Certification (Joint Application with U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers). 

Tennessee Historical Commission ..................................... National Historic Preservation Act, Section 106 Consultation. 

Environmental Mailing List 

This notice is being sent to the 

Commission’s current environmental 

mailing list for the Project which 

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 and includes a 

mailing address with their comments. 

Commission staff will update the 

environmental mailing list as the 

analysis proceeds to ensure that 

Commission notices related to this 

environmental review are sent to all 

individuals, organizations, and 

government entities interested in and/or 

potentially affected by the proposed 

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 need to make changes to your 

name/address, or if you would like to 

remove your name from the mailing list, 

please complete one of the following 

steps: 

Send an email to 

GasProjectAddressChange@ferc.gov 

stating your request. You must include 

the docket number CP23–516–000 in 

your request. If you are requesting a 

change to your address, please be sure 

to include your name and the correct 

address. If you are requesting to delete 

your address from the mailing list, 

please include your name and address 

as it appeared on this notice. This email 

address is unable to accept comments. 

OR 

(1) Return the attached ‘‘Mailing List 

Update Form’’ (appendix 2). 

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 

website at www.ferc.gov using the 

eLibrary link. Click on the eLibrary link, 

click on ‘‘General Search’’ and enter the 

docket number in the ‘‘Docket Number’’ 

field, excluding the last three digits (i.e., 

CP23–516). Be sure you have selected 

an appropriate date range. For 

assistance, please contact FERC Online 

Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov 

or (866) 208–3676, or for TTY, contact 

(202) 502–8659. The eLibrary link also 

provides access to the texts of all formal 

documents issued by the Commission, 

such as orders, notices, and 

rulemakings. 

Public sessions or site visits will be 

posted on the Commission’s calendar 

located at https://www.ferc.gov/newsevents/events along with other related 

information. 

Dated: September 18, 2023. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 


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65386 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 65387 


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65388 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 183 / Friday, September 22, 2023 / Notices 

[FR Doc. 2023–20571 Filed 9–21–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–C 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OPPT–2003–0004; FRL–11389– 

01–OCSPP] 

Access to Confidential Business 

Information by Eastern Research 

Group (ERG) and Its Subcontractors 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: EPA has authorized the 

following contractor and subcontractors 

to access information which has been 

submitted to EPA under all sections of 

the Toxic Substances Control Act 

(TSCA), some of which may be claimed 

or determined to be confidential 

business information (CBI): Eastern 

Research Group Inc. (ERG) of Lexington, 

MA/Chantilly, VA and its 

subcontractors as listed in Unit III. 

DATES: Access will occur no sooner than 

September 29, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: The docket for this action, 

identified by docket identification (ID) 

number EPA–HQ–OPPT–2003–0004, is 

available at https://

www.regulations.gov. Additional 

instructions on accessing the docket, 

along with more information about 

dockets generally, is available at https:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

For technical information contact: 

Colby Lintner, Program Management 

and Operations Division (7407M), Office 

of Pollution Prevention and Toxics, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 

20460–0001; telephone number: (202) 

564–8182; email address: lintner.colby@

epa.gov or Adam Schwoerer; telephone 

number: (202) 564–4767; email address: 

schwoerer.adam@epa.gov. 

For general information contact: The 

TSCA-Hotline, ABVI-Goodwill, 422 

South Clinton Ave., Rochester, NY 

14620; telephone number: (202) 554– 

1404; email address: TSCA-Hotline@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Does this action apply to me? 

This action is directed to the public 

in general. This action may, however, be 

of interest to all who manufacture, 

process, or distribute industrial 

chemicals. Because other entities may 

also be interested, the Agency has not 

attempted to describe all the specific 

entities that may be affected by this 

action. 

II. What is the Agency’s authority for 

taking this action? 

This notice is provided pursuant to 

section 14 of the Toxic Substances 

Control Act (TSCA), 15 U.S.C. 2601 et 

seq., and EPA implementing regulations 

in 40 CFR part 2. 

III. What action is the Agency taking? 

Under EPA contract number 

68HERC23D0006, Eastern Research 

Group (ERG) and its subcontractors as 

identified in this unit will provide 

support for Chemical Screening, 

Review, and Evaluation of New, 

Existing, and Safer Choice Chemical 

Substances in accordance with the 

Performance Work Statement which are 

vital to Agency personnel to make 

informed decisions on environmental 

issues and other information that maybe 

claimed as TSCA CBI in accordance 

with the TSCA Security Manual. 

In accordance with 40 CFR 2.306(j), 

EPA has determined that to perform 

successfully the duties specified under 

EPA contract number 68HERC23D0006, 

the contractor and its subcontractors 

will require access to information that 

may contain CBI submitted under all 

sections of TSCA. As such, personnel of 

the contractor and its subcontractors 

will be given access to information that 

may be claimed or determined to be CBI 

information submitted to EPA under all 

sections of TSCA. 

EPA is issuing this notice to inform 

all submitters of information under all 

sections of TSCA that EPA will provide 

the herein identified contractor and its 

subcontractors with access to the CBI 


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