Document ID: FERC-2015-0832-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Impact Statements; Availability, etc.: Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC; Southeast Market Pipelines Project, Albany Compressor Station Location
Posted Date: 2015-06-26T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 123 (Friday, June 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36798-36799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15649]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-17-000]

Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC; Supplemental Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Southeast 
Market Pipelines Project and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues Related to the Newly Proposed Albany Compressor Station Location

    In a June 10, 2015, filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission (FERC or Commission), Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC (Sabal 
Trail) proposed a new location for the Albany Compressor Station, a 
component of the Sabal Trail Project (Project) in Dougherty County, 
Georgia. This new site, which is described below, would affect new 
landowners; therefore, the Commission is issuing this supplemental 
notice (Notice) to provide landowners and other interested parties an 
opportunity to comment on the new compressor station location. As 
previously noticed on February 18, 2014, and as supplemented on October 
15, 2014, and supplemented herein, the FERC is the lead federal agency 
responsible for conducting the environmental review of the Project, and 
is preparing an environmental impact statement (EIS) that discusses the 
environmental impacts of the Project. This EIS will be used in-part by 
the Commission to determine whether the Project is in the public 
convenience and necessity.
    You have been identified as a landowner or an interested party 
residing within 0.5-mile of the newly proposed compressor station 
location. Information in this Notice was prepared to familiarize you 
with the new site and instruct you on how to submit comments. This 
Notice is also being sent to federal, state, and local government 
agencies; elected officials; Native American tribes; and local 
libraries and newspapers. We encourage elected officials and government 
representatives to notify their constituents about the Project and 
inform them on how they can comment on their areas of concern. Please 
note that comments on this Notice should be filed with the Commission 
by July 20, 2015.
    To help potentially affected landowners and other interested 
parties better understand the Commission and its environmental review 
process, the ``For Citizens'' section of the FERC Web site 
(www.ferc.gov) provides information about getting involved in FERC 
jurisdictional projects, and a citizens' guide entitled ``An Interstate 
Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need to Know?'' This guide 
addresses a number of frequently asked questions, including the use of 
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments 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 considered 
in a timely manner and properly recorded, please send your comments so 
that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before July 
20, 2015.
    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 (CP15-17-000) 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.

Project Summary and Background

    The Project is being reviewed concurrently along with the Florida 
Southeast Connection Project and the Hillabee Expansion Project. These 
combined projects would involve the construction and operation of over 
650 miles of interstate natural gas transmission pipeline and 
associated facilities in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida (referred to as 
the Southeast Market Pipelines Project). The Project would connect with 
the Hillabee Expansion Project in Alabama, and the Florida Southeast 
Connection Project in Florida.
    On October 16, 2013, the FERC environmental staff approved Sabal 
Trail's request to use the Commission's Pre-Filing Process under docket 
number PF14-1-000. The purpose of the Pre-Filing Process is to 
encourage the early involvement of interested stakeholders to identify 
and resolve project-related issues before an application is filed with 
the Commission. During the course of the Pre-Filing Process, numerous 
concerns were expressed about the potential environmental impacts of 
the Albany Compressor Station and numerous alternative locations were 
identified and evaluated. On November 21, 2014, Sabal Trail filed its 
formal application with the Commission which was accepted for 
processing under docket CP15-17-000. Since that time, we requested 
additional information from Sabal Trail in three separate data 
requests. Sabal Trail responded to each of those requests and provided 
additional information in nine supplemental filings, including the June 
10, 2015 filing in which it informed the Commission of the new, 
proposed location for the Albany Compressor Station.

Newly Proposed Albany Compressor Station Location

    In its November 2014 application, Sabal Trail proposed to locate 
the Albany Compressor Station along Newton Road just southwest of the 
City of Albany in Dougherty County (the Newton Road Site). Upon further 
evaluation, Sabal Trail now proposes to locate the Albany Compressor 
Station on a 98-acre parcel along West Oakridge

[[Page 36799]]

Drive (the West Oakridge Drive Site). The West Oakridge Drive Site is 
located to the west of Albany, approximately 3 miles northwest from the 
Newton Road Site. A map depicting the newly proposed West Oakridge 
Drive Site is provided in Appendix 1.
    Sabal Trail would locate the compressor station within a 34-acre 
fenced area on the southern end of the site, approximately 2,000 feet 
south of West Oakridge Drive. The site is largely wooded with mature, 
planted pine, and Sabal Trail would retain at least a 100-foot-wide 
tree buffer around the entire station. Access to the station would be 
from West Oakridge Drive via an existing road on the site. Sabal Trail 
would also slightly modify the proposed pipeline alignment on the site 
to retain a 100-foot-wide tree buffer between the pipeline right-of-way 
and the western boundary of the site.

The EIS 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 
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 EIS on the important 
environmental issues. By this Notice, the Commission requests public 
comments on the West Oakridge Drive Site for the Albany Compressor 
Station. We will consider all filed comments that are suggested during 
the preparation of the EIS.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in a draft 
EIS that will be placed in the public record, published, and 
distributed to the public for comments. We will also hold public 
comment meetings in the Project area and will address comments on the 
draft EIS in a final EIS. The final EIS will also be placed in the 
public record, published, and distributed to the public. To ensure your 
comments are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in 
the Public Participation section, beginning on page 2.

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 supplemental Notice to inform the 
Georgia State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) of the proposed new 
site, and to solicit its view and those of other government agencies, 
interested Indian tribes, and the public on the Project's potential 
effects on historic properties.\1\ 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, meter stations, and access roads). Our EIS for the 
Project will document our findings on the impacts on historic 
properties and summarize the status of consultations under section 106.
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    \1\ The 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.
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Environmental Mailing List

    Copies of the draft EIS will be sent to the environmental mailing 
list for public review and comment. 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 proposed Project.
    If you would prefer to receive a paper copy of the draft EIS 
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

    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.

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 (i.e., CP15-17). 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.
    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/docs-filing/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: June 19, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-15649 Filed 6-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P