Document ID: FERC-2015-0551-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: National Fuel Gas Supply Corp. and Empire Pipeline, Inc.; Northern Access 2016 Project
Posted Date: 2015-05-06T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 87 (Wednesday, May 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26015-26017]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-10557]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-115-000]

National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation and Empire Pipeline, Inc.; 
Supplemental Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment 
for the Proposed Northern Access 2016 Project, Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues, Notice of Environmental Site Review, and Notice 
of Public Scoping Meeting

    On October 22, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC 
or Commission) issued in Docket No. PF14-18-000 a Notice of Intent to 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned Northern Access 
2016 Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice 
of Public Scoping Meetings (NOI). In their application in the above-
referenced docket, National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation (Supply) and 
Empire Pipeline Inc. (Empire) (collectively National Fuel) have since 
filed their proposed locations for one new compressor station and one 
natural gas dehydration facility in Niagara County, New York. This 
Supplemental Notice is being issued to seek comments on the new 
aboveground facilities and opens a new scoping period for interested 
parties to file comments on environmental issues specific to these 
facilities.
    The October 22, 2014 NOI announced that the FERC will prepare an 
environmental assessment (EA) to address the environmental impacts of 
the Northern Access 2016 Project (Project). Please refer to the NOI for 
more information about the facilities proposed by National Fuel in 
Pennsylvania and 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.
    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. Your input will help 
Commission staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. 
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 May 29, 2015.
    The Commission previously solicited public input on the pipeline 
portion of the project in Pennsylvania and New York in the fall of 
2014. We \1\ are specifically seeking comments on the aboveground 
facilities to help the Commission staff determine what issues need to 
be evaluated in the EA. If you have previously submitted comments 
during the pre-filing review in docket no. PF14-18-000, you do not need 
to resubmit your comments at this time. Please note that this special 
scoping period will close on May 29, 2015.
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    \1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this Project. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this proposed 
Project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    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.

Public Participation

    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal 
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form 
or provided verbally. The Commission encourages electronic filing of 
comments and has expert staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 
or efiling@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 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.
    (4) In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the 
Commission invites you to attend the public scoping meeting its staff 
will conduct in the project area, scheduled as follows.
    FERC Public Scoping Meeting, Northern Access 2016 Project--
Aboveground Facilities in NY, May 20, 2015, 7:00 p.m., Wendelville Fire 
Company, 7340 Campbell Boulevard, North Tonawanda, NY 14120.
    We will begin our sign up of speakers at 6:00 p.m. The scoping 
meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m. with a description of

[[Page 26016]]

our environmental review process by Commission staff, after which 
speakers will be called. The meeting will end once all speakers have 
provided their comments or at 10:00 p.m., whichever comes first. Please 
note that there may be a time limit of three minutes to present 
comments, and speakers should structure their comments accordingly. If 
time limits are implemented, they will be strictly enforced to ensure 
that as many individuals as possible are given an opportunity to 
comment. The meetings are recorded by a stenographer to ensure comments 
are accurately recorded. Transcripts will be entered into the formal 
record of the Commission proceeding.
    National Fuel representatives will be present one hour prior to the 
start of the scoping meeting to provide additional information about 
the project and answer questions.

Environmental Onsite Review

    Commission staff will conduct two environmental onsite reviews of 
National Fuel's proposed Pendleton Compressor Station site and its 
proposed Wheatfield Dehydration Facility. Notes from this onsite 
environmental site review will be posted to the docket.

Summary of the Newly Proposed Facilities

    The aboveground facilities that are the focus of this notice are 
the new Pendleton Compressor Station and Wheatfield Dehydration 
Facility, both in Niagara County, New York. The general location of 
these proposed project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed 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.
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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 
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 important environmental 
issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public comments on the 
scope of issues to address in 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;
     soils;
     water resources;
     vegetation;
     wildlife and aquatic resources;
     fisheries and aquatic resources;
     threatened, endangered, and other special-status species;
     land use, recreation, special interest areas, and visual 
resources;
     socioeconomics;
     cultural resources;
     air quality and noise;
     reliability and safety; and
     cumulative environmental impacts.
    We will also evaluate possible 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.
    Please note that since National Fuel has filed an application for 
the proposed Project, a new docket number has been assigned (CP15-115-
000). As part of our pre-filing review, we participated in public Open 
House meetings sponsored by National Fuel in the project area in August 
2014 to explain the environmental review process to interested 
stakeholders. We also conducted public scoping meetings along the 
proposed pipeline route in November 2014. We have also contacted 
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. We will 
publish and distribute the EA for public comment. After the comment 
period, we will consider all timely comments which will be addressed in 
the Commission's decisional order.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues related to this 
Project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. 
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. Army Corps of 
Engineers 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 applicable State Historic Preservation Offices and to solicit 
their views and those of other government agencies, interested Indian 
tribes, and the public on the Project's potential effects on historic 
properties.\3\ We will define the project-specific Area of Potential 
Effects in consultation with the State Historic Preservation Offices as 
the project develops. On natural gas facility projects, the Area of 
Potential Effects 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.
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    \3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic 
properties are defined in those regulations 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

    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 by 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.
    Copies of the completed EA 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 a CD version or would 
like to remove your name from the mailing list, please return the 
attached Information Request (appendix 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to

[[Page 26017]]

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 in the Docket Number field (i.e., CP15-
115). 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.
    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.
    Finally, National Fuel has established a project contact (Emily 
Ciraolo), a toll-free phone number (1-800-634-5440 ext. 7861) and an 
email support address (ciraoloe@natfuel.com) so that parties can call 
them directly with questions about the project.

    Dated: April 29, 2015.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-10557 Filed 5-5-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P