Document ID: FERC-2012-1377-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Line MB Loop Extension Project
Posted Date: 2012-08-20T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 161 (Monday, August 20, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50098-50100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-20310]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF12-6-000]

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Supplemental Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned Line MB Loop 
Extension Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

    On August 1, 2012, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia) filed 
its intent to modify the Line MB Loop Extension Project (project) in 
Baltimore and Harford Counties, Maryland, by incorporating the 
Alternative Route 16.55A into it's proposed route and dropping the BGE 
Route Alternative from further consideration. On April 16, 2012, a 
Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment (original NOI) 
was issued for the project as originally planned. This Supplemental 
Notice of Intent (supplemental NOI) addresses these changes. The 
original NOI is attached to this document, so certain information 
included in it will not be repeated in the supplemental NOI including 
the original project description, information about becoming an 
intervenor, and how to find additional information about the project.
    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 project involving construction 
and operation of the facilities planned by Columbia, including the 
supplemental facilities. This EA will be used by the Commission in its 
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the 
public convenience and necessity.
    If you are receiving this supplemental NOI, you may be affected by 
Alternate Route 16.55A. This notice announces the opening of the 
scoping process the Commission will use to gather input from the public 
and interested agencies on these supplemental facilities for the 
project. Your input will help the Commission staff determine what 
issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping 
period will close on September 10, 2012.
    This supplemental NOI is being sent to the affected landowners 
along the Alternative Route 16.55A facilities proposed by Columbia for 
the project on August 1, 2012. State and local government 
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this 
modification to the planned project and encourage them to comment on 
their areas of concern. We invite you to file comments; but, we request 
that you file comments only pertinent to Alternative Route 16.55A.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative 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 project is approved by the Commission, 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 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

    Columbia plans to construct about 21.4 miles of 26-inch-diameter 
pipeline in Baltimore and Harford Counties, Maryland. The new pipeline 
would primarily in installed within or adjacent to it's existing 
rights-of-way.
    The planned supplemental facilities would include the Alternative 
Route 16.55A which would be about 4.1 miles of 26-inch-diameter 
pipeline departing from the existing Line MA near milepost (MP) 16.55 
and ending at MP 21. It would begin where the existing Line MA corridor 
crosses Dunstan Lane and would parallel Stansbury Mill Road eastward to 
Allison Road. From this point it would parallel Allison Road

[[Page 50099]]

northward, and then cross this road extending to the northeast to cross 
Little Gunpowder Falls. It would continue north northeastward through 
agricultural land and then turn east southeastward parallel to Hess 
Road behind the residences along Hess Road. It would then cross 
Fallston Road and Kings Arms Drive, and turn southeastward to tie back 
to the Line MA corridor. Because Columbia intends to incorporate this 
route alternative into the Line MB Loop Extension Project, it longer 
considers the BGE Route Alternative as part of the proposed route.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ 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 
\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. All comments 
received will be considered 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 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;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species; and
     Public safety.
    We will also continue to 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 an 
application is filed with the FERC. 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.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. 
The EA will be placed in the public record and, depending on the 
comments received during the scoping process, may be published and 
distributed to the public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA 
is published for review. We will consider all comments on the EA before 
we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments 
are considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public 
Participation section below.

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 applicable State Historic Preservation Office, 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 (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project is further 
developed. 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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    \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 for 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 they will be received in Washington, DC, on or before September 
10, 2012.
    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 (PF10-15-000) with your submission. The 
Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert 
eFiling staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or 
efiling@ferc.gov.
    (1) You can file your comments electronically by using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at 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 by using the eFiling 
featured on the Commission's Web site at 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 may file a paper copy of your comments at the following 
address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.

Environmental Mailing List

    You have been added to the current environmental mailing list which 
includes federal, state, and local government representatives and 
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; 
Native American Tribes; other interested parties; and local newspapers. 
This list also includes all the affected landowners (as defined in the 
Commission's regulations) for the project as originally planned who are 
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily 
for project purposes, or who own homes within certain distances of 
above ground facilities, and anyone who submits comments on the 
project. We will update the environmental mailing

[[Page 50100]]

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 the EA is published for distribution, 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).

    Dated: August 9, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-20310 Filed 8-17-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P