Document ID: FERC-2013-1458-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Texas Eastern Transmission, LP
Posted Date: 2013-11-07T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 216 (Thursday, November 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66911-66913]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-26659]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP14-4-000; CP14-9-000]

Texas Eastern Transmission, LP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Emerald Longwall Mine Panel 
D1 and Consol Baily East Mine Panel 1l Projects and Request for 
Comments on Environmental Issues; Texas Eastern Transmission, LP

    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 Emerald Longwall Mine Panel D1 
Project in Docket No. CP14-4-000 and the Consol Baily East Mine Panel 
1L Project in Docket No. CP14-9-000 (projects). The projects involve 
the excavation, abandonment, replacement, temporary elevation, and 
reburial of pipeline facilities currently operated by Texas Eastern 
Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern) in Greene County, Pennsylvania to 
facilitate the underground mining of coal. The Commission will use this 
EA in its decision-making process to determine whether the projects are 
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 projects. 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 December 2, 2013.
    You may submit comments in written form. The details on how to 
submit written comments are in the Public Participation section of this 
notice.
    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 these proposed 
projects 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 a temporary 
easement to abandon, replace, elevate and monitor the proposed 
activities. 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

[[Page 66912]]

company could initiate condemnation proceedings where compensation 
would be determined in accordance with state law.
    Texas Eastern 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 the use of eminent domain and 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

    Texas Eastern Transmission, LP is seeking authorization from the 
FERC pursuant to Sections 7(b) and 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act for the 
projects, which includes work to be performed for the planned longwall 
coal mining activities of Emerald Coal Resources, LP (Emerald) in Panel 
D1 of its mine and Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC (Consol) for 
its Baily Mine in Panel 1L. Texas Eastern designed the projects to 
ensure the safe and efficient operation of its existing pipeline 
facilities at their certificated design capacities during the planned 
longwall mining activities at both mines which include mining coal 
below the pipelines and then allowing the mine roof to collapse after 
removing the mine braces.
    Texas Eastern proposes to excavate and elevate sections of Lines 2, 
10, 15, and 25 totaling 14,760 feet in length over the Emerald mine and 
sections of Lines 10, 15, 25, and 30 totaling 19,790 feet over the 
Consol mine to monitor and mitigate potential strains and stresses on 
these pipeline sections. Texas Eastern would also replace with like-
diameter pipeline the excavated segments of Lines 10, 15, and 25 over 
both mines, during pipe elevation. The four mainline segments at each 
mine would remain elevated using sandbags and skids for about 2 years 
until the longwall mining activities have been completed and the area 
is allowed time to settle. Additionally, a 2,700 foot segment of 
previously idled Line 1 would be abandoned by removal to allow 
additional space for re-installation of Line 25 over the Emerald mine 
and 5 feet of Line 1 would be abandoned by removal at the Consol mine. 
During the actual subsidence event, all segments would be monitored 
with strain gauges, and adjustments to sandbags and skids would be 
made, as necessary, to minimize pipeline stresses. After mining and 
allowing for a settlement period, the pipelines would be reburied 
within Texas Eastern's existing easements.
    Also at the Emerald mine, Texas Eastern would install a temporary 
aboveground 4-inch-diameter pipeline to isolate its existing Line 10-K 
that connects Lines 10 and 15 to meter and regulator (M&R) station 
70020. This temporary pipeline would also be elevated and monitored 
during mining. After mining the original pipeline would be reconnected 
between the pipelines and the M&R station. A section of previously 
abandoned Line 2 would also be removed within the same right-of-way as 
Line 1.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The 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.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    The projects would disturb about 19.4 acres of land for the 
excavation, abandonment, replacement, elevation, and reburial at the 
Emerald mine and 26.0 acres at the Consol mine, most of which consists 
of existing previously disturbed easements. The acreages include 
permanent and temporary construction right-of-way, access roads, and 
wareyards. Following pipeline reburial and restoration, Texas Eastern 
would continue to maintain its existing 16.6 acres of easement at the 
Emerald mine and 18.4 acres at the Consol mine for the continued 
permanent operation of its pipelines; the remaining acreage would be 
restored and allowed to revert to former uses.

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.
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    \2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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    In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the excavation, abandonment, replacement, temporary elevation, and 
reburial of Texas Eastern's existing pipeline facilities under these 
general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     land use;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     cultural resources;
     vegetation and wildlife;
     air quality and noise;
     endangered and threatened species; 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 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 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.
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    \3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing 
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal 
Regulations, Sec.  1501.6.
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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 Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), 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.\4\ We will define the

[[Page 66913]]

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.
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    \4\ The 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.
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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 
December 2, 2013.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the appropriate project docket number(s) (CP14-4-000 and/or 
CP14-9-000) 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 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 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 
proposed 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

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, 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 at 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., CP14-
4-000 or CP14-9-000). 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 now 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/esubscribenow.htm.
    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 31, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-26659 Filed 11-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P