Document ID: FERC-2012-1609-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, Brandywine Creek Replacement Project
Posted Date: 2012-09-27T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 188 (Thursday, September 27, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59391-59393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-23803]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP12-497-000]

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assesment for the Proposed Brandywine Creek 
Replacement Project; Request for Comments on Environmental Issues; and 
Notice of Public Scoping Meeting

    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 Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line 
Company, LLC's (Transco) proposed Brandywine Creek Replacement Project 
(Project). The proposed project involves the replacement of existing 
interstate natural gas transmission pipeline in Chester County, 
Pennsylvania. The Commission will use this EA in its decision-making 
process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience 
and necessity.

[[Page 59392]]

    This notice announces the opening of the scoping period the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies about the project. Your input will help the Commission's staff 
determine what issues need to evaluated in the EA. Comments about the 
project may be submitted in writing or verbally at the public scoping 
meeting to be held as described below. To submit written comments, 
please see the public participation section of this notice.

FERC Public Scoping Meeting, Brandywine Creek Replacement Project, 
October 9, 2012/7 p.m., Sykes Auditorium, West Chester University, 110 
West Rosedale Avenue, West Chester, PA 19383, Sykes Union Lobby: (610) 
436-2984.

    Please note that this scoping period will close on October 22, 
2012.
    The purpose of the scoping meeting is to provide the public 
information about Transco's proposal and the Commission's environmental 
review process, and to provide an opportunity for the public to 
verbally submit environmental comments about Transco's proposed 
project. Comments received at the scoping meeting will be recorded and 
entered in the public record. Transco representatives will also be 
present before and after the meeting to answer questions about its 
proposal.
    This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental 
mailing list for this project and will be posted on the Commission's 
Web site. The Commission's staff encourages all recipients to share 
this notice with anyone they think might be interested in the project. 
Elected officials are also encouraged to notify their constituents of 
this project, and the public scoping meeting.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Transco proposes to remove approximately 2,167 feet of existing 30-
inch-diameter natural gas pipeline and replace it with 42-inch-diameter 
natural gas pipeline in East Brandywine and East Caln Townships--
Chester County, Pennsylvania. As proposed, this replacement would 
require the crossing of Brandywine Creek and two crossings of Ludwig's 
Run. The Struble Trail would also be temporarily closed, crossed and 
used for temporary workspace.
    According to Transco, this project would enable the passage of 
internal inspection devices to collect pipeline integrity data; bring 
it in compliance with federal pipeline safety regulations (49 CFR 
192.150); mitigate system reliability issues; remove a flow 
restriction, and provide efficient natural gas transportation service.
    The general location of the project area 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

    Removing the existing pipeline and installing the replacement 
pipeline would require the temporary use of approximately 13.1 acres of 
land. No land in addition to that already used for existing pipeline 
operations would be required to permanently operate the replacement 
pipeline. Of the 13.1 acres of land that would be temporarily required 
to remove and install the proposed pipeline, approximately 4.2 acres 
are currently used for existing pipeline operations, and approximately 
4.3 acres would be used for workspace access and an offsite pipe 
storage/contractor staging yard.

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 the impacts that could occur as a result 
of the project under these general headings:
     Geology and soils;
     Water resources and wetlands;
     Vegetation, wildlife, and fisheries;
     Endangered and threatened species;
     Land use and visual resources;
     Cultural resources;
     Air quality and noise;
     Reliability and safety; and
     Cumulative impacts.
    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 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 of this notice.
    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 in 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, Part 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 applicable 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 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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[[Page 59393]]

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 
October 22, 2012.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please 
reference the project docket number (CP12-497-000) 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.
    Copies of the 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 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., CP12-
497). 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/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: September 21, 2012.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2012-23803 Filed 9-26-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P