Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 228 / Wednesday, November 29, 2023 / Notices 83403 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. RM98–1–000] 

Records Governing Off-the-Record 

Communications; Public Notice 

This constitutes notice, in accordance 

with 18 CFR 385.2201(b), of the receipt 

of prohibited and exempt off-the-record 

communications. 

Order No. 607 (64 FR 51222, 

September 22, 1999) requires 

Commission decisional employees, who 

make or receive a prohibited or exempt 

off-the-record communication relevant 

to the merits of a contested proceeding, 

to deliver to the Secretary of the 

Commission, a copy of the 

communication, if written, or a 

summary of the substance of any oral 

communication. 

Prohibited communications are 

included in a public, non-decisional file 

associated with, but not a part of, the 

decisional record of the proceeding. 

Unless the Commission determines that 

the prohibited communication and any 

responses thereto should become a part 

of the decisional record, the prohibited 

off-the-record communication will not 

be considered by the Commission in 

reaching its decision. Parties to a 

proceeding may seek the opportunity to 

respond to any facts or contentions 

made in a prohibited off-the-record 

communication and may request that 

the Commission place the prohibited 

communication and responses thereto 

in the decisional record. The 

Commission will grant such a request 

only when it determines that fairness so 

requires. Any person identified below as 

having made a prohibited off-the-record 

communication shall serve the 

document on all parties listed on the 

official service list for the applicable 

proceeding in accordance with Rule 

2010, 18 CFR 385.2010. 

Exempt off-the-record 

communications are included in the 

decisional record of the proceeding, 

unless the communication was with a 

cooperating agency as described by 40 

CFR 1501.6, made under 18 CFR 

385.2201(e)(1)(v). 

The following is a list of off-therecord communications recently 

received by the Secretary of the 

Commission. This filing may be viewed 

on the Commission’s website at 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. For 

assistance, please contact FERC Online 

Support at FERCOnlineSupport@

ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208–3676, or 

for TTY, contact (202) 502–8659. 

Docket Nos. File date Presenter or requester 

Prohibited: 

1. CP22–21–000 ................................................................................ 11–21–2023 FERC Staff.1

Exempt: 

None.

1Emailed comments dated 11/18/2023 from Jarrod Baniqued. 

Dated: November 22, 2023. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–26239 Filed 11–28–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP23–536–000] 

Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company; 

Notice of Public Scoping Session for 

the Proposed Worcester Resiliency 

Upgrade Project 

On October 11, 2023, the staff of the 

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 

(FERC or Commission) issued a Notice 

of Scoping Period Requesting Comments 

On Environmental Issues for the 

Worcester Resiliency Upgrade Project. 

With that notice, the Commission 

requested public comments on the 

scope of issues to address in the 

environmental document that the FERC 

staff will prepare to discuss the 

environmental impacts of the Worcester 

Resiliency Upgrade (Project). The 

Project involves construction and 

operation of facilities by Eastern Shore 

Natural Gas Company (Eastern Shore) in 

Worcester, Wicomico, and Somerset 

Counties, Maryland and Sussex County, 

Delaware (appendix 1). The 

Commission will use this environmental 

document in its decision-making 

process to determine whether the 

Project is in the public convenience and 

necessity. 

The October 11, 2023 notice 

announced the opening of the scoping 

process the Commission will use to 

gather input from the public and 

interested agencies regarding the 

Project. This notice announces the 

scoping session dates, locations, and 

times (see Public Participation section 

of this notice). As part of the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 

review process, the Commission 

considers concerns the public may have 

about proposals and the environmental 

impacts that could result from its action 

whenever it considers the issuance of a 

Certificate of Public Convenience and 

Necessity. This gathering of public 

input is referred to as ‘‘scoping.’’ The 

main goal of the scoping process is to 

focus the analysis in the environmental 

document on the important 

environmental issues. 

This notice was sent to the 

Commission’s current environmental 

mailing list for this Project. State and 

local government representatives should 

notify their constituents of this planned 

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 

planned 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 subsequently 

grant, exercise, or oversee the exercise 

of that eminent domain authority. The 

courts have exclusive authority to 

handle eminent domain cases; the 

Commission has no jurisdiction over 

these matters. 

A fact sheet prepared by FERC 

entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas 

Facility On My Land? What Do I Need 

To Know?’’ addresses typically asked 

questions, including the use of eminent 

domain and how to participate in the 

Commission’s proceedings. This fact 


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