Document ID: FERC-2016-0489-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: New York Bay Expansion Project, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co., LLC
Posted Date: 2016-04-08T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 68 (Friday, April 8, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20629-20630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-08070]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP15-527-000]

Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC; Notice of 
Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed New York 
Bay Expansion Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this environmental assessment for the New York 
Bay Expansion Project (Project) proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe 
Line Company, LLC (Transco) in the above-referenced docket. Transco 
requests authorization to construct, replace, and operate natural gas 
pipeline facilities located in Chester County, Pennsylvania, Richmond 
County, New York, and Middlesex and Essex Counties, New Jersey. This 
Project would enable Transco to modify existing facilities and replace 
existing pipeline to transport an additional 115 million cubic feet of 
natural gas per day.
    The Project would involve the following activities at existing 
aboveground facilities in the specified towns and municipalities:
     Uprate Compressor Station 200 from 30,860 horsepower (hp) 
to 33,000 hp (East Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania) 
and uprate a unit of Compressor Station 303 from 25,000 hp to 27,500 hp 
(Roseland Borough, Essex County, New Jersey);
     Add 11,000 hp of electric-driven compression to Compressor 
Station 207 (Old Bridge Township, Middlesex County, New Jersey);
     Install various appurtenances and modifications at three 
meter and regulation (M&R) stations in East Brandywine Township 
(Chester County,

[[Page 20630]]

Pennsylvania), Sayreville Borough (Middlesex County, New Jersey) and 
Staten Island Borough (Richmond County, New York), including setting up 
a temporary M&R station during construction in Staten Island Borough.
    In addition, Transco proposes to replace three segments of its 42-
inch-diameter Lower New York Bay Lateral pipeline, totaling 0.25 mile, 
and uprate the lateral pipeline's operating pressure from 960 to 1000 
pounds per square inch in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
    The environmental assessment assesses the potential environmental 
effects of the construction and operation of the Project in accordance 
with the National Environmental Policy Act. The FERC staff concludes 
that approval of the proposed Project, with appropriate mitigating 
measures, would not constitute a major federal action significantly 
affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The environmental assessment has been placed in the public files of 
the FERC and is available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site at 
www.ferc.gov using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies of the 
EA are available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Conference Room, 888 First Street 
NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
    Copies of the environmental assessment have been mailed to federal, 
state, and local government representatives and agencies; elected 
officials; environmental and public interest groups; Native American 
tribes; potentially affected landowners and other interested 
individuals and groups; libraries in the Project area; and parties to 
this proceeding.
    Any person wishing to comment on the environmental assessment may 
do so. 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 properly recorded and 
considered prior to a Commission decision on the proposal, it is 
important that the FERC receives your comments in Washington, DC on or 
before May 4, 2016.
    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 (CP15-527-000) with your submission. The 
Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has dedicated 
eFiling expert staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or 
efiling@ferc.gov.
    (1) You may 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. An eComment is an easy method 
for interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a 
project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature, which is located 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 will be asked to select the type of filing you 
are making. A comment on a particular project is considered a ``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.
    Although your comments will be considered by the Commission, simply 
filing comments will not serve to make the commentor a party to the 
proceeding. Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must 
file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's 
Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214).\1\ Only intervenors 
have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision. Affected 
landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be granted 
intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they have a 
clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your comments considered.
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    \1\ See the previous discussion on the methods for filing 
comments.
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    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-
527). 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 http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.

    Dated: April 4, 2016.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-08070 Filed 4-7-16; 8:45 am]
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