Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 13 / Thursday, January 20, 2022 / Notices 3103 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket Nos. CP21–465–000; CP21–465– 

001; CP21–465–002] 

Driftwood Pipeline LLC; Notice of 

Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Impact Statement for the Proposed 

Line 200 and Line 300 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 Line 200 and Line 300 

Project (Project) involving construction 

and operation of facilities by Driftwood 

Pipeline LLC (Driftwood) in Beauregard 

and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana. 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. 

This notice announces the opening of 

the scoping process the Commission 

will use to gather input from the public 

and interested agencies regarding the 

project. 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 

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. 

Additional information about the 

Commission’s NEPA process is 

described below in the NEPA Process 

and the EIS section of 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 

February 14, 2022. Comments may be 

submitted in written or oral form. 

Further details on how to submit 

comments are provided in the Public 

Participation section of this notice. 

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. 

Driftwood 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 

Questions or Landowner Topics link. 

Public Participation 

There are four 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 (CP21–465–000, 

–001, –002) 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. 

(4) In lieu of sending written 

comments, the Commission invites you 

to attend one of the virtual public 

scoping session(s) its staff will conduct 

by telephone, scheduled as follows: 

January 25 & 27, 2022 

January 25, 2022 

5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. CST 

Call in number: 800–779–8625 

Participant Passcode: 3472916 

January 27, 2022 

5:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m. CST 

Call in number: 800–779–8625 

Participant Passcode: 3472916 

The primary goal of these scoping 

sessions is to have you identify the 

specific environmental issues and 

concerns that should be considered in 

the environmental document. 

Individual oral comments will be taken 

on a one-on-one basis with a court 

reporter present on the line. This format 

is designed to receive the maximum 

amount of oral comments, in a 

convenient way during the timeframe 

allotted, and is in response to the 

ongoing COVID–19 pandemic. No 

presentation will be provided, or 

questions answered during the session. 

Prospective commentors are encouraged 

to review Driftwood’s application and 

supplemental filings to familiarize 

themselves with the Project prior to 

participating in the meeting. Instruction 

on how to access Driftwood’s filings are 

provided in the Additional Information 

section of this notice. In addition to 

providing comments directly to FERC, 

parcel-specific questions can be directed 

to Driftwood at landowners@

driftwoodpipeline.com. 

Each scoping session is scheduled 

from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. CST. You 

may call at any time after 5:30 p.m. at 

which time you will be placed on mute 


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3104 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 13 / Thursday, January 20, 2022 / Notices 

1The 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 

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 at 

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

208–3676 or TTY (202) 502–8659. 

2For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer 

to the last page of this notice. 

3 40 CFR 1508.1(z). 

and hold. Calls will be answered in the 

order they are received. Once answered, 

you will have the opportunity to 

provide your comment directly to a 

court reporter with FERC staff or 

representative present on the line. A 

time limit of three minutes will be 

implemented for each commentor. 

Transcripts of all comments received 

during the scoping sessions will be 

publicly available on FERC’s eLibrary 

system (see the last page of this notice 

for instructions on using eLibrary). 

It is important to note that the 

Commission provides equal 

consideration to all comments received, 

whether filed in written form or 

provided at a virtual scoping session. 

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. 

Summary of the Proposed Project, the 

Project Purpose and Need, and 

Expected Impacts 

Driftwood proposes to construct and 

operate dual 42-inch-diameter natural 

gas pipelines originating near Ragley in 

Beauregard Parish, Louisiana southward 

to a proposed receiver facility near 

Carlyss in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana. 

Additional facilities include one new 

compressor station, twelve meter 

stations, six mainline valves, and other 

aboveground facilities. The Project 

would provide a maximum seasonal 

capacity of 5.7 billion cubic feet of 

natural gas per day (Bcf/d) to the Lake 

Charles market. According to Driftwood, 

its Project would provide enhanced 

supply access, resilience, and reliability 

to the natural gas market in the Lake 

Charles area. 

The Project would consist of the 

following facilities: 

• Installation of 36.9 miles of 42-inchdiameter pipeline in Beauregard and 

Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana (Line 

200); 

• installation of 30.8 miles of 42-inchdiameter pipeline in Beauregard and 

Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana (Line 

300); 

• installation of the new Indian 

Bayou Compressor Station (up to 

211,200 horsepower) of electric-driven 

compression in Beauregard Parish); 

• installation of twelve new meter 

stations in Beauregard and Calcasieu 

Parishes; 

• installation of a dual receiver 

facility at the terminus of Line 200 and 

Line 300 in Calcasieu Parish; and 

• installation of six new mainline 

valves in Beauregard and Calcasieu 

Parishes. 

The general location of the Project 

facilities is shown in appendix 1.1

Based on the environmental 

information provided by Driftwood, 

construction of the proposed facilities 

would disturb about 894.7 acres of land 

for the aboveground facilities and the 

pipelines. Following construction, 

Driftwood would maintain about 410.3 

acres for operation of the Project 

facilities; the remaining acreage would 

be restored. 

Based on an initial review of 

Driftwood’s proposal, Commission staff 

have identified several expected 

impacts that deserve attention in the 

EIS. The Project would impact 192 

waterbodies, 169.6 acres of wetland, 

304.3 acres of agriculture lands, 163.7 

acres of forest and 117.3 acres of pine 

plantation, 84 acres of open land, and 

additional residential, industrial, and 

open lands. In addition to these Project 

impacts, landowners along the route 

may also be affected by construction 

and operation of the authorized 

Louisiana Connector Project and the 

Driftwood Project, and other proposed 

residential, road improvement, and 

electric utility projects. A segment of the 

proposed route has been identified as a 

low-income environmental justice 

community. Schools, churches, and 

libraries within these environmental 

justice communities, along with known 

environmental justice organizations, 

have been included on the 

Commission’s environmental mailing 

list for the project, as further explained 

in the Environmental Mailing List 

section of this notice. 

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; 

• 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. 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 2 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.3 Alternatives currently under 

consideration include: 

• The no-action alternative, meaning 

the Project is not implemented; 

• the natural gas compression 

alternative; 

• pipeline system alternatives; 

• pipeline route alternatives; and 

• aboveground facility site 

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. Please 

provide as much detail on any potential 

reasonable alternative as possible (e.g., 

maps, sketches, reasons for the 

alternative, comparative impacts to the 

proposed route) to facilitate the 

Commissions review of the alternative. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 13 / Thursday, January 20, 2022 / Notices 3105 

4The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s 

regulations are at Title 36, Code of Federal 

Regulations, 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. 

5The 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. 

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 for the Project with the 

applicable State Historic Preservation 

Office, 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.4 The Project EIS 

will document findings on the impacts 

on historic properties and summarize 

the status of consultations under section 

106. 

Schedule for Environmental Review 

On June 30, 2021, the Commission 

issued its Notice of Application for the 

Project. On October 13, 2021, Driftwood 

filed a supplement to its Application 

consisting of alignment modifications, 

workspace adjustments, and the 

addition and removal of aboveground 

facilities. The Commission issued a 

Notice of Amendment to Application on 

October 20, 2021 which established 

docket number CP21–465–001. On 

October 29, 2021, Driftwood filed a 

second amendment to its application 

requesting an increase in the requested 

transportation capacity from the 

originally proposed nominal capacity of 

4.6 billion cubic feet per day Bcf/d to a 

nominal capacity of 5.4 Bcf/d, with a 

maximum seasonal capacity of 5.7 Bcf/ 

d. The Commission subsequently issued 

a Notice of Amendment to Application 

on November 11, 2021 which 

established docket number CP21–465– 

002. 

Among other things, the Notice of 

Application 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 May 2022. 

Issuance of Notice of Availability of the 

final EIS—September 15, 2022 

90-day Federal Authorization Decision 

Deadline 5—December 14, 2022 

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 

FERC ......................... Section 7 of the Natural 

Gas Act. 

U.S. Army Corps of 

Engineers.

Section 404 of the Clean 

Water Act. 

Section 10 of the Rivers 

and Harbors Act of 1899. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife 

Service.

Section 7 of Endangered 

Species Act 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, including environmental justice 

organizations; 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-ofway 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: 

(1) Send an email to GasProject 

AddressChange@ferc.gov stating your 

request. You must include the docket 

number CP21–465–002 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 

(2) 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., 

CP21–465). 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: January 13, 2022. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2022–01039 Filed 1–19–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 


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