Document ID: FERC-2018-1365-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Adelphia Gateway, LLC; Adelphia Gateway Project
Posted Date: 2018-10-25T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 207 (Thursday, October 25, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53867-53868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23322]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP18-46-000]

Notice of Schedule for Environmental Review of the Adelphia 
Gateway Project: Adelphia Gateway, LLC

    On January 12, 2018, Adelphia Gateway, LLC (Adelphia) filed an 
application in Docket No. CP18-46-000 requesting a Certificate of 
Public Convenience and Necessity pursuant to Section 7(c) of the 
Natural Gas Act to construct and operate certain natural gas pipeline 
facilities, as well as acquire and convert an existing oil pipeline 
(southern segment) and an existing dual-phase oil and natural gas 
pipeline (northern segment) to natural gas only. On August 31, 2018, 
Adelphia filed an amendment to the application proposing to increase 
its proposed capacity on the northern segment, but would not result in 
any changes to the proposed facilities. The proposed project is located 
in both Pennsylvania and Delaware and is known as the Adelphia Gateway 
Project (Project). As amended, the Project would provide about 250 and 
350 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day on the existing 
18-inch-diameter and 20-inch-diameter portions of the northern segment, 
respectively. The Project would also provide 250 million standard cubic 
feet of natural gas per day on the existing 18-inch-diameter southern 
segment to the greater Philadelphia industrial region with potential to 
serve additional markets in the northeast.
    On January 23, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission or FERC) issued its Notice of Application for the Project. 
Among other things, that notice alerted agencies issuing federal 
authorizations of the requirement to complete all necessary reviews and 
to reach a final decision on a request for a federal authorization 
within 90 days of the date of issuance of the Commission staff's 
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Project. This instant notice 
identifies the FERC staff's planned schedule for the completion of the 
EA for the Project.

Schedule for Environmental Review

Issuance of EA--January 4, 2019
90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline--April 4, 2019

    If a schedule change becomes necessary, additional notice will be 
provided so that the relevant agencies are kept informed of the 
Project's progress.

[[Page 53868]]

Project Description

    Adelphia Gateway proposes to acquire and convert the above 
referenced northern and southern segments and four existing meter 
stations to natural gas only, and construct and operate about 4.7 miles 
of new 16-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline, five meter stations with 
eight interconnects, seven blowdown assemblies, two mainline valves, 
and appurtenant facilities in Delaware, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and 
Northampton Counties, Pennsylvania, and New Castle County, Delaware. 
Additionally, Adelphia proposes to construct two new 5,625 horsepower 
compressor stations in Delaware and Bucks Counties, Pennsylvania.

Background

    On May 1, 2018, the Commission issued a Notice of Intent to Prepare 
an Environmental Assessment for the proposed Adelphia Gateway Project, 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Public 
Scoping Sessions (NOI). The NOI was sent to affected landowners; 
federal, state, and local government agencies; elected officials; 
Native American tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries 
and newspapers. In response to the NOI and during Project scoping, the 
Commission received comments from the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, local and state 
governments, non-governmental organizations, and more than 360 comment 
letters from residents. The primary issues raised by the commenters 
relate to safety and health concerns for residents and nearby 
communities, as well as concerns related to environmental impacts 
associated with the repurposing of the existing system to transport 
natural gas and construction of new natural gas infrastructure. Project 
stakeholders also generally expressed Project concerns about the 
following:
     Noise, safety, air quality, and visual impacts of the 
proposed compressor stations;
     effects on local communities, nearby properties, and 
property rights and values;
     direct harm to local communities, cultural and historical 
interests, and open space;
     water quality impacts, including erosion and stormwater 
runoff, and impacts on drinking water supplies;
     contaminated groundwater and soil;
     traffic impacts;
     impacts on tourism; and
     climate change.
    All substantive comments will be addressed in the EA.

Additional Information

    In order to receive notification of the issuance of the EA and to 
keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets, 
the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription. 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.
    Additional information about the Project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs at (866) 208-FERC or on the 
FERC website (www.ferc.gov). Using the ``eLibrary'' link, select 
``General Search'' from the eLibrary menu, enter the selected date 
range and ``Docket Number'' excluding the last three digits (i.e., 
CP18-46), and follow the instructions. For assistance with access to 
eLibrary, the helpline can be reached at (866) 208-3676, TTY (202) 502-
8659, or at [email protected]. The eLibrary link on the FERC 
website also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by 
the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rule makings.

    Dated: October 19, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-23322 Filed 10-24-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P