72058 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 201 / Thursday, October 19, 2023 / Notices 

1 40 CFR 1501.10 (2020). 

2The 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. 1Tri-State Transmittal at 6. 

This notice identifies Commission 

staff’s intention to prepare an 

environmental assessment (EA) for the 

Amendment and the planned schedule 

for the completion of the environmental 

review.1

Schedule for Environmental Review 

Issuance of EA—November 14, 2023 

90-day Federal Authorization Decision

Deadline 2—February 12, 2024

If a schedule change becomes

necessary, additional notice will be 

provided so that the relevant agencies 

are kept informed of the Amendment’s 

progress. 

Project Description 

The Amendment would adjust the Rio 

Bravo Pipeline’s certificated route from 

approximate milepost (MP) 69.8 to MP 

79.4 and from approximate MP 92.4 to 

MP 93.0 in Willacy County, Texas and 

from approximate MP 99.7 to MP 100.5 

in Willacy and Cameron Counties, 

Texas. The Amendment would also 

relocate a meter station and extend the 

approved Rio Bravo Pipeline route 

approximately 0.6 mile in Cameron 

County, Texas and modify the pipe wall 

thickness of the majority of the Rio 

Bravo Pipeline consistent with U.S. 

Department of Transportation’s Pipeline 

Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration regulations. The route 

adjustments are intended to minimize 

impacts on certain sensitive 

environmental resources, address 

landowner requests, meet technical 

requirements from the International 

Boundary and Water Commission, and 

align the terminus of the pipelines with 

the currently approved design of the Rio 

Grande LNG Terminal. 

Background 

On August 23, 2023, the Commission 

issued a Notice of Scoping Period 

Requesting Comments on 

Environmental Issues for the Proposed 

Rio Bravo Pipeline Route Amendment 

(Notice of Scoping). The Notice of 

Scoping was sent to affected 

landowners; federal, state, and local 

government agencies; elected officials; 

environmental and public interest 

groups; Native American tribes; other 

interested parties; and local libraries 

and newspapers. In response to the 

Notice of Scoping, the Commission 

received comments from the U.S. Fish 

and Wildlife Service, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency, 

several individuals, Rio Grande LNG, 

LLC, and from Rio Bravo. The primary 

issues raised by the commenters specific 

to the scope of the Amendment are 

requests to extend the scoping comment 

period; impacts on endangered species 

(e.g., ocelot habitat), wildlife, and 

cultural resources; and reliability and 

safety. All substantive comments 

received during the scoping period and 

up until issuance of the EA will be 

addressed in the EA. 

Additional Information 

In order to receive notification of the 

issuance of the EA and to keep track of 

formal issuances and submittals in 

specific dockets, 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. 

Additional information about the 

Amendment is available from the 

Commission’s Office of External Affairs 

at (866) 208–FERC or on the FERC 

website (www.ferc.gov). Using the 

‘‘eLibrary’’ link, select ‘‘General Search’’ 

from the eLibrary menu, enter the 

selected date range and ‘‘Docket 

Number’’ excluding the last three digits 

(i.e., CP23–519), and follow the 

instructions. For assistance with access 

to eLibrary, the helpline can be reached 

at (866) 208–3676, TTY (202) 502–8659, 

or at FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. The 

eLibrary link on the FERC website also 

provides access to the texts of formal 

documents issued by the Commission, 

such as orders, notices, and rule 

makings. 

Dated: October 13, 2023. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23106 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. ER23–2171–000] 

Tri-State Generation and Transmission 

Association, Inc.; Notice of Conference 

Call 

On Friday, October 20, 2023, 

Commission staff will hold a conference 

call with Tri-State Generation and 

Transmission Association, Inc. (TriState) beginning at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern 

Time). The purpose of the conference 

call is to clarify the following statements 

made by Tri-State in the June 16, 2023 

transmittal letter to its formula rate 

filing in Docket No. ER23–2171–000: 

‘‘Given that an order on the Initial 

Decision has not yet issued, Tri-State is 

filing this rate to be consistent with its 

prior rates and cooperative principles. 

This filing will be adjusted accordingly 

in the event of a future Commission 

order that includes a conflicting 

directive.’’ 1 The discussion during the 

conference call will be limited solely to 

whether Tri-State intends to submit an 

amended filing as referenced in these 

statements. 

All interested parties are invited to 

listen by phone. The conference call 

will not be webcasted or transcribed. 

However, an audio listen-only line will 

be provided. Those wishing to access 

the listen-only line must email Sean 

Pauley at sean.pauley@ferc.gov by 5:00 

p.m. (Eastern Time) on Thursday

October 19, 2023, with your name,

email, and phone number, in order to

receive the call-in information before

the conference call. Please use the

following text for the subject line,

‘‘ER23–2171–000 listen-only line

registration.’’

Commission conferences are 

accessible under section 508 of the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973. For 

accessibility accommodations, please 

send an email to accessibility@ferc.gov 

or call toll free 1 (866) 208–3372 (voice) 

or (202) 208–1659 (TTY), or send a FAX 

to (202) 208–2106 with the required 

accommodations. 

For additional information, please 

contact Sean Pauley at (202) 502–6766 

or sean.pauley@ferc.gov. 

Dated: October 13, 2023. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–23104 Filed 10–18–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 


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