94720 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2024 / Notices 

1See National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation, 

Request for Extension of Time, filed July 22, 2021, 

and September 21, 2021 delegated letter order to 

National Fuel granting National Fuel’s request. 

2Contested proceedings are those where an 

intervenor disputes any material issue of the filing. 

18 CFR 385.2201(c)(1). 

3Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC 

¶ 61,144, at P 40 (2020). 

4 Id. at P 40. 

FirstLight MA Hydro LLC and 

Northfield Mountain LLC, respectively, 

filed applications for new major licenses 

to operate the 62.0-megawatt (MW) 

Turners Falls Hydroelectric Project 

(Turners Falls Project; FERC No. 1889) 

and 1,166.8-MW Northfield Mountain 

Pumped Storage Project (Northfield 

Mountain Project; FERC No. 2485) 

(collectively, projects). On June 5, 2024, 

Commission staff issued a notice of 

intent to prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the 

effects of relicensing the projects. The 

notice included an anticipated schedule 

for issuing the draft and final EIS. 

By this notice, Commission staff is 

updating the procedural schedule for 

completing the draft and final EIS. The 

revised schedule is shown below. 

Further revisions to the schedule may 

be made as appropriate. 

Milestone Target date 

Issue draft EIS .......... April 2025. 

Draft EIS Public 

Meeting.

May 2025. 

Comments on draft 

EIS due.

June 2025. 

Commission issues 

final EIS.

December 2025. 

Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 4336a(c), we are 

soliciting additional comments on 

alternatives or impacts and on relevant 

information, studies, or analyses with 

respect to the proposed action. Such 

comments must be filed within 30 days 

of this notice. Comments on these topics 

already filed in response to the REA 

Notice do not need to be refiled. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filing. Please file comments 

using the Commission’s eFiling system 

at http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

efiling.asp. Commenters can submit 

brief comments up to 6,000 characters, 

without prior registration, using the 

eComment system at http://

www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/ 

ecomment.asp. For assistance, please 

contact FERC Online Support at 

FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov, (866) 

208–3676 (toll free), or (202) 502–8659 

(TTY). In lieu of electronic filing, you 

may submit a paper copy. Submissions 

sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be 

addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 

1A, Washington, DC 20426. 

Submissions sent via any other carrier 

must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. 

Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins 

Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852. All 

filings must clearly identify the project 

name and docket number on the first 

page. 

The Commission’s Rules of Practice 

and Procedures require all intervenors 

filing documents with the Commission 

to serve a copy of that document on 

each person on the official service list 

for the project. Further, if an intervenor 

files comments or documents with the 

Commission relating to the merits of an 

issue that may affect the responsibilities 

of a particular resource agency, they 

must also serve a copy of the document 

on that resource agency. 

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. 

Any questions regarding this notice 

may be directed to Steve Kartalia at 

(202) 502–6131 or stephen.kartalia@

ferc.gov. 

Dated: November 21, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27970 Filed 11–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP17–443–001] 

National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation; 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Time 

Take notice that on November 15, 

2024, National Fuel Gas Supply 

Corporation (National Fuel) requested 

that the Commission grant an extension 

of time, until December 31, 2025, to 

complete abandonment of Well WH23 

in the Wharton Storage Field as part of 

its Wharton WH23 Storage Well 

Abandonment Project (Project) located 

in Potter County, Pennsylvania. On 

March 25, 2017, the Commission issued 

a Notice of Request Under Blanket 

Authorization for the Project, which 

established a 60-day comment period, 

ending on July 7, 2017. No protests were 

filed during the comment period, and 

accordingly, by Rule, the project was 

authorized on July 8, 2017, and 

construction required to be completed 

within one year or July 24, 2018. The 

Commission subsequently granted four 

extensions of time; the current deadline 

for the Project facilities to be 

constructed and placed into service is 

December 31, 2024.1

National Fuel states abandonment 

activities were suspended in June 2023 

due to higher than anticipated wellhead 

pressures and that it has conducted 

work to allow for monitoring and 

isolation of certain storage reservoir 

zones. National Fuel states it plans to 

complete abandonment work and 

monitor the wellhead pressure over the 

2024–2025 withdrawal season to assure 

the well is sealed. Therefore, National 

Fuel requests an extension of time until 

December 31, 2025, to complete 

abandonment work and assure that Well 

WH23 is sealed. 

This notice establishes a 15-calendar 

day intervention and comment period 

deadline. Any person wishing to 

comment on National Fuel’s request for 

an extension of time 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 (NGA) (18 CFR 157.10). 

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,2 the 

Commission will aim to issue an order 

acting on the request within 45 days.3

The Commission will address all 

arguments relating to whether the 

applicant has demonstrated there is 

good cause to grant the extension.4 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 

and necessity and whether the 

Commission’s environmental analysis 

for the certificate complied with the 

National Environmental Policy Act 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 230 / Friday, November 29, 2024 / Notices 94721 

5Similarly, 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. 

6Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC, 170 FERC 

¶ 61,144, at P 40 (2020). 

1 In accordance with the Council on 

Environmental Quality’s regulations, the unique 

identification number for documents relating to this 

environmental review is EAXX–019–20–000– 

1730110485. 40 CFR 1501.5(c)(4) (2024). 

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. 

(NEPA).5 At the time a pipeline requests 

an extension of time, orders on 

certificates of public convenience and 

necessity are final and the Commission 

will not re-litigate their issuance.6 The 

Director of the Office of Energy Projects, 

or his or her designee, will act on all of 

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 (https://

www.ferc.gov). From the Commission’s 

Home Page on the internet, this 

information is available on eLibrary. 

The full text of this document is 

available on eLibrary in PDF and 

Microsoft Word format for viewing, 

printing, and/or downloading. To access 

this document in eLibrary, type the 

docket number excluding the last three 

digits of this document in the docket 

number field. 

User assistance is available for 

eLibrary and the Commission’s website 

during normal business hours from 

FERC Online Support at (202) 502–6652 

(toll free at 1–866–208–3676) or email at 

ferconlinesupport@ferc.gov, or the 

Public Reference Room at (202) 502– 

8371, TTY (202) 502–8659. Email the 

Public Reference Room at 

public.referenceroom@ferc.gov. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

electronic filings of comments in lieu of 

paper using the ‘‘eFile’’ link at http://

www.ferc.gov. In lieu of electronic filing, 

you may submit a paper copy which 

must reference the Project docket 

number. 

To file via USPS: Debbie-Anne A. 

Reese, Secretary, Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street 

NE, Washington, DC 20426. 

To file via any other courier: DebbieAnne A. Reese, Secretary, Federal 

Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 

Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 

20852. 

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. 

Comment Date: 5:00 p.m. Eastern 

Time on December 6, 2024. 

Dated: November 21, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–27977 Filed 11–27–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP24–93–000] 

Schedule for the Preparation of an 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Venice Gathering System 

Abandonment Project: Venice 

Gathering System, LLC 

On March 12, 2024, Venice Gathering 

System, L.L.C. (VGS) filed an 

application with the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (Commission or 

FERC), in Docket No. CP24–93–000, 

requesting authorization pursuant to 

Section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act to 

abandon certain natural gas pipeline 

facilities. The proposed project is 

known as the Venice Gathering System 

Abandonment Project (Project). 

On March 18, 2024, the FERC issued 

its Notice of Application for the Project. 

Among other things, that notice alerted 

agencies issuing federal authorizations 

of the requirement to complete all 

necessary reviews and to reach a final 

decision on a request for a federal 

authorization within 90 days of the date 

of issuance of the Commission staff’s 

environmental document for the Project. 

This notice identifies Commission 

staff’s intention to prepare an 

environmental assessment (EA) for the 

Project and the planned schedule for the 

completion of the environmental 

review.1 The EA would be issued for a 

30-day comment period. 

Schedule for Environmental Review 

Issuance of EA—January 31, 2025 

90-day Federal Authorization Decision 

Deadline 2—May 1, 2025 

If a schedule change becomes 

necessary, additional notice would be 

provided by FERC so that the relevant 

agencies are kept informed of the 

Project’s progress. 

Project Description 

VGS proposes to abandon certain 

onshore and offshore facilities 

comprising the Venice Gathering 

System located onshore in the state of 

Louisiana and offshore in state and 

federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Specifically, VGS proposes to abandon 

in-place a total of approximately 121.5 

miles of 8-inch to 26-inch-diameter 

pipeline extending south of Venice 

Energy Services Company LLC’s natural 

gas processing plant in Plaquemines 

Parish, Louisiana to offshore federal 

waters in the Gulf of Mexico in South 

Timbalier Block 151 and West Delta 

Blocks 41 and 72. 

Background 

On November 5, 2024, the 

Commission issued a Notice of Scoping 

Period Requesting Comments on 

Environmental Issues for the Proposed 

Venice Gathering System Pipeline 

Abandonment Project (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; interested Indian 

tribes; other interested parties; and local 

libraries and newspapers. As of today’s 

notice, the Commission has received no 

comments from any parties in response 

to the Notice of Scoping. All substantive 

environmental comments will be 

addressed in the EA. No government 

agencies volunteered to be cooperating 

agencies in the preparation of 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 


khammond on DSK9W7S144PROD with NOTICES