64762 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / 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’’ or from the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 888 First 

Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 

502–8371. For instructions on connecting to 

eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice. 

2 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the 

environmental staff of the Commission’s Office of 

Energy Projects. 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. PF14–20–000] 

WBI Energy Wind Ridge Pipeline, LLC; 

WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice 

of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 

Assessment for the Planned Wind 

Ridge Pipeline Project, Request for 

Comments on Environmental Issues, 

and Notice of Public Scoping Meetings 

The staff of the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC or 

Commission) will prepare an 

environmental assessment (EA) that will 

discuss the environmental impacts of 

the Wind Ridge Pipeline Project 

involving construction and operation of 

facilities by WBI Energy Wind Ridge 

Pipeline, LLC and WBI Energy 

Transmission, Inc. (Companies) in 

McIntosh, Logan, LaMoure, and 

Stutsman Counties, North Dakota. The 

Commission will use this EA in its 

decision-making process to determine 

whether the project is in the public 

convenience and necessity. 

This notice announces the opening of 

the scoping process the Commission 

will use to gather input from the public 

and interested agencies on the project. 

Your input will help the Commission 

staff determine what issues they need to 

evaluate in the EA. Please note that the 

scoping period will close on November 

24, 2014. 

You may submit comments in written 

form or verbally. Further details on how 

to submit written comments are in the 

Public Participation section of this 

notice. In lieu of or in addition to 

sending written comments, the 

Commission invites you to attend the 

public scoping meetings scheduled as 

follows: 

Scoping meeting in 

Jamestown, ND 

Scoping meeting in 

Wishek, ND 

Wednesday, November 19, 2014.Thursday, November 

20, 2014. 

5:30 p.m. local 

time, Jamestown 

Knights of Columbus, 519 1st 

Ave. S., Jamestown, ND 58401.

5:30 p.m. local time, 

Wishek Civic Center, 

715 1st Avenue 

South, Wishek, ND 

58492. 

This notice is being 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 

agreement. However, if the Commission 

approves the project, that approval 

conveys with it the right of eminent 

domain. Therefore, if easement 

negotiations fail to produce an 

agreement, the pipeline company could 

initiate condemnation proceedings 

where compensation would be 

determined in accordance with state 

law. 

A fact sheet prepared by the FERC 

entitled ‘‘An Interstate Natural Gas 

Facility On My Land? What Do I Need 

To Know?’’ is available for viewing on 

the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov). This 

fact sheet addresses a number of 

typically asked questions, including the 

use of eminent domain and how to 

participate in the Commission’s 

proceedings. 

Summary of the Planned Project 

The project would consist of: 

• Approximately 96 miles of new 20- 

inch-diameter natural gas pipeline; 

• a new 700–1000 horsepower 

compressor station (Spiritwood 

Compressor Station) with 8-inchdiameter suction and discharge 

pipelines; 

• two new meter stations; 

• valve settings; and 

• other appurtenant facilities. 

The project would supply 

approximately 90,000 dekatherms per 

day of natural gas to a proposed 

nitrogen fertilizer plant near 

Spiritwood, North Dakota, with up to an 

additional 50,000 dekatherms per day of 

deliverability possible along the Wind 

Ridge Pipeline and an additional 

deliverability of up to 35,000 

dekatherms per day on WBI Energy 

Transmission, Inc.’s system. The general 

location of the project facilities is shown 

in appendix 1.1

Land Requirements for Construction 

Construction of the planned facilities 

would disturb approximately 1,529 

acres of land for the aboveground 

facilities and the pipeline. Following 

construction, the Companies would 

maintain about 595 acres for permanent 

operation of the project’s facilities; the 

remaining acreage would be restored 

and revert to former uses. About 6 

percent of the planned pipeline route 

parallels existing pipeline, utility, or 

road rights-of-way. 

The EA Process 

The National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to 

take into account the environmental 

impacts that could result from an action 

whenever it considers the issuance of a 

Certificate of Public Convenience and 

Necessity. NEPA also requires us 2 to 

discover and address concerns the 

public may have about proposals. This 

process is referred to as scoping. The 

main goal of the scoping process is to 

focus the analysis in the EA on the 

important environmental issues. By this 

notice, the Commission requests public 

comments on the scope of the issues to 

address in the EA. We will consider all 

filed comments during the preparation 

of the EA. 

In the EA we will discuss impacts that 

could occur as a result of the 

construction and operation of the 

planned project under these general 

headings: 

• Geology and soils; 

• land use; 

• water resources, fisheries, and 

wetlands; 

• cultural resources; 

• vegetation and wildlife; 

• endangered and threatened species; 

• air quality and noise; and 

• public safety. 

We will also evaluate possible 

alternatives to the planned project or 

portions of the project, and make 

recommendations on how to lessen or 

avoid impacts on the various resource 

areas. 

Although no formal application has 

been filed, we have already initiated our 

NEPA review under the Commission’s 

pre-filing process. The purpose of the 

pre-filing process is to encourage early 

involvement of interested stakeholders 

and to identify and resolve issues before 

the FERC receives an application. As 

part of our pre-filing review, we have 

begun to contact some federal and state 

agencies to discuss their involvement in 

the scoping process and the preparation 

of the EA. 

The EA will present our independent 

analysis of the issues. The EA will be 

available in the public record through 

eLibrary. Depending on the comments 

received during the scoping process, we 

may also publish and distribute the EA 

to the public for an allotted comment 

period. We will consider all comments 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 64763 

3The Council on Environmental Quality 

regulations addressing cooperating agency 

responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 1501.6. 

4The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation 

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. 

on the EA before we make our 

recommendations to the Commission. 

To ensure we have the opportunity to 

consider and address your comments, 

please carefully follow the instructions 

in the Public Participation section 

beginning on page 5. 

With this notice, we are asking 

agencies with jurisdiction by law and/ 

or special expertise with respect to the 

environmental issues related to this 

project to formally cooperate with us in 

the preparation of the EA.3 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. Currently, the 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has 

expressed its intention to participate as 

a cooperating agency in the preparation 

of the EA to satisfy its NEPA 

responsibilities related to this project. 

Consultations 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, we are using this 

notice to initiate consultation with the 

North Dakota State Historic Preservation 

Office (SHPO), and to solicit the SHPO’s 

views and those of other government 

agencies, interested Indian tribes, and 

the public on the project’s potential 

effects on historic properties.4 We will 

define the project-specific Area of 

Potential Effects (APE) in consultation 

with the SHPO as the project develops. 

On natural gas facility projects, the APE 

at a minimum encompasses all areas 

subject to ground disturbance (examples 

include construction right-of-way, 

contractor/pipe storage yards, 

compressor stations, and access roads). 

Our EA for this project will document 

our findings on the impacts on historic 

properties and summarize the status of 

consultations under Section 106. 

Currently Identified Environmental 

Issues 

We have already identified several 

issues that we think deserve attention 

based on a preliminary review of the 

planned facilities and the 

environmental information provided by 

the Companies. This preliminary list of 

issues may change based on your 

comments and our analysis. 

• Existing conservation easements; 

and 

• Agricultural impacts. 

Public Participation 

You can make a difference by 

providing us with your specific 

comments or concerns about the project. 

Your comments should focus on the 

potential environmental effects, 

reasonable alternatives, and measures to 

avoid or lessen environmental impacts. 

The more specific your comments, the 

more useful they will be. To ensure that 

your comments are timely and properly 

recorded, please send your comments so 

that the Commission receives them in 

Washington, DC on or before November 

24, 2014. 

For your convenience, there are three 

methods you can use to submit your 

comments to the Commission. In all 

instances, please reference the project 

docket number (PF14–20–000) with 

your submission. The Commission 

encourages electronic filing of 

comments and has expert staff available 

to assist you at (202) 502–8258 or 

efiling@ferc.gov. 

(1) You can file your comments 

electronically using the eComment 

feature located on the Commission’s 

Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link 

to Documents and Filings. This is an 

easy method for interested persons to 

submit brief, text-only comments on a 

project; 

(2) You can file your comments 

electronically using the eFiling feature 

located on the Commission’s Web site 

(www.ferc.gov) under the link to 

Documents and Filings. 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 must select 

the type of filing you are making. If you 

are filing a comment on a particular 

project, please select ‘‘Comment on a 

Filing’’; or 

(3) You can file a paper copy of your 

comments by mailing them to the 

following address: Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 

1A, Washington, DC 20426. 

Environmental Mailing List 

The environmental mailing list 

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. We will 

update the environmental mailing list as 

the analysis proceeds to ensure that we 

send the information related to this 

environmental review to all individuals, 

organizations, and government entities 

interested in and/or potentially affected 

by the planned project. 

If we publish and distribute the EA, 

copies will be sent to the environmental 

mailing list for public review and 

comment. If you would prefer to receive 

a paper copy of the document instead of 

the CD version or would like to remove 

your name from the mailing list, please 

return the attached Information Request 

(appendix 2). 

Becoming an Intervenor 

Once the Companies file their 

application with the Commission, you 

may want to become an ‘‘intervenor’’ 

which is an official party to the 

Commission’s proceeding. Intervenors 

play a more formal role in the process 

and are able to file briefs, appear at 

hearings, and be heard by the courts if 

they choose to appeal the Commission’s 

final ruling. An intervenor formally 

participates in the proceeding by filing 

a request to intervene. Instructions for 

becoming an intervenor are in the User’s 

Guide under the ‘‘e-filing’’ link on the 

Commission’s Web site. Please note that 

the Commission will not accept requests 

for intervenor status at this time. You 

must wait until the Commission 

receives a formal application for the 

project. 

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 Web 

site (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary 

link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on 

‘‘General Search’’ and enter the docket 

number, excluding the last three digits 

in the Docket Number field (i.e., PF14– 

20). Be sure you have selected an 

appropriate date range. 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. The eLibrary link also 

provides access to the texts of formal 

documents issued by the Commission, 

such as orders, notices, and 

rulemakings. 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
64764 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 211 / Friday, October 31, 2014 / Notices 

1The appendices referenced in this notice will 

not appear in the Federal Register. Copies of 

appendices were sent to all those receiving this 

notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov 

using the link called ‘‘eLibrary’’ or from the 

Commission’s Public Reference Room, 888 First 

Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 

502–8371. For instructions on connecting to 

eLibrary, refer to the last page of this notice. 

2 ‘‘We,’’ ‘‘us,’’ and ‘‘our’’ refer to the 

environmental staff of the Commission’s Office of 

Energy Projects. 

3The Council on Environmental Quality 

regulations addressing cooperating agency 

responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal 

Regulations, Part 1501.6. 

In addition, the Commission offers a 

free service called eSubscription which 

allows you to keep track of all formal 

issuances and submittals in specific 

dockets. This can reduce the amount of 

time you spend researching proceedings 

by automatically providing you with 

notification of these filings, document 

summaries, and direct links to the 

documents. Go to www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/esubscription.asp. 

Finally, public meetings or site visits 

will be posted on the Commission’s 

calendar located at www.ferc.gov/

EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along 

with other related information. 

Dated: October 23, 2014. 

Kimberly D. Bose, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2014–25897 Filed 10–30–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission 

[Docket No. CP14–552–000] 

Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, 

LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Assessment for the 

Proposed Compressor Station 245 

Horsepower Replacement Project and 

Request for Comments on 

Environmental Issues 

The staff of the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC or 

Commission) will prepare an 

environmental assessment (EA) that will 

discuss the environmental impacts of 

the Compressor Station 245 Horsepower 

Replacement Project involving 

construction and operation of facilities 

by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, 

LLC (TGP) in Herkimer County, New 

York. The Commission will use this EA 

in its decision-making process to 

determine whether the project is in the 

public convenience and necessity. 

This notice announces the opening of 

the scoping process the Commission 

will use to gather input from the public 

and interested agencies on the project. 

Your input will help the Commission 

staff determine what issues they need to 

evaluate in the EA. Please note that the 

scoping period will close on November 

24, 2014. 

This notice is being sent to the 

Commission’s current environmental 

mailing list for this project. State and 

local government representatives should 

notify their constituents of this 

proposed project and encourage them to 

comment on their areas of concern. 

TGP 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?’’ 

This fact sheet addresses a number of 

typically asked questions, including 

how to participate in the Commission’s 

proceedings. It is also available for 

viewing on the FERC Web site 

(www.ferc.gov). 

Summary of the Proposed Project 

At its existing Compressor Station 245 

in Herkimer County, New York, TGP 

proposes to: 

(1) Abandon in place one existing 

3,500 horsepower Worthington ML12 

natural gas-fired compressor unit; 

(2) retire from active service three 

existing 1,400 horsepower Worthington 

UTC natural gas-fired compressor units 

and retain the units in place for standby 

use; 

(3) install one new 8,219 horsepower 

Taurus 70 natural gas-fired turbine 

compressor unit; and 

(4) construct a new compressor 

building and associated facilities to 

house the new compressor unit. 

TGP states that the project would 

enable TGP to meet New York state 

nitrogen oxide emission limits, and 

would improve overall system 

reliability and flexibility. TGP does not 

anticipate that its proposal would result 

in any increase in mainline capacity. 

The general location of the project 

facilities is shown in appendix 1.1

Land Requirements for Construction 

The project would disturb 

approximately 25 acres of previously 

disturbed land entirely owned by TGP 

within the existing Compressor Station 

245 property boundary. Public roads as 

well as private roads on the existing 

Compressor Station 245 site would be 

used for access to proposed construction 

work areas. New road extensions from 

existing roads within the compressor 

station site would be constructed. 

The EA Process 

The National Environmental Policy 

Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to 

take into account the environmental 

impacts that could result from an action 

whenever it considers the issuance of a 

Certificate of Public Convenience and 

Necessity. NEPA also requires us 2 to 

discover and address concerns the 

public may have about proposals. This 

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

main goal of the scoping process is to 

focus the analysis in the EA on the 

important environmental issues. By this 

notice, the Commission requests public 

comments on the scope of the issues to 

address in the EA. We will consider all 

filed comments during the preparation 

of the EA. 

In the EA we will discuss impacts that 

could occur as a result of the 

construction and operation of the 

proposed project under these general 

headings: 

• Geology and soils; 

• land use; 

• water resources; 

• cultural resources; 

• vegetation, wildlife, and sensitive 

species; 

• air quality and noise; and 

• public safety. 

We will also evaluate reasonable 

alternatives to the proposed project or 

portions of the project, and make 

recommendations on how to lessen or 

avoid impacts on the various resource 

areas. 

The EA will present our independent 

analysis of the issues. The EA will be 

available in the public record through 

eLibrary. Depending on the comments 

received during the scoping process, we 

may also publish and distribute the EA 

to the public for an allotted comment 

period. We will consider all comments 

on the EA before making our 

recommendations to the Commission. 

To ensure we have the opportunity to 

consider and address your comments, 

please carefully follow the instructions 

in the Public Participation section 

below. 

With this notice, we are asking 

agencies with jurisdiction by law and/ 

or special expertise with respect to the 

environmental issues of this project to 

formally cooperate with us in the 

preparation of the EA.3 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. 

Public Participation 

You can make a difference by 

providing us with your specific 

comments or concerns about the project. 

Your comments should focus on the 

potential environmental effects, 

reasonable alternatives, and measures to 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES