Document ID: FERC-2023-1621-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Equitrans, LP, Swarts and Hunters Cave Well Replacement Project
Posted Date: 2023-12-15T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 240 (Friday, December 15, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86889-86890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27519]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

FEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

[Docket No. CP23-507-000]

Equitrans, L.P.; Notice of Availability of the Environmental 
Assessment for the Proposed the Swarts and Hunters Cave Well 
Replacement Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the 
Swarts and Hunters Cave Well Replacement Project, proposed by 
Equitrans, L.P. (Equitrans) in the above-referenced docket. Equitrans 
requests authorization to abandon 19 injection/withdrawal wells, and 
construct two horizontal wells, and associated pipelines and 
appurtenances, at its existing certificated Swarts and Hunters Cave 
Storage Fields in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction, operation, and abandonment activities associated with the 
Swarts and Hunters Cave Well Replacement Project in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 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 proposed Swarts and Hunters Cave Well Replacement Project 
includes the following facilities and activities:
     abandonment by-sale of 19 injection/withdrawal wells at 
Equitrans' Hunters Cave Storage Field;
     abandonment in-place of the associated well pipelines and 
any associated facilities;
     construction and operation of a new horizontal well, 
associated pipelines, and ancillary facilities at the Hunters Cave 
Storage Field;
     construction and operation of a new horizontal well, 
associated pipelines, and ancillary facilities at the Swarts Complex;
     expansions of the existing Morris Interconnect and Pierce 
Gates Valve Yards at the Hunters Cave Storage Field;
     acquisition of non-jurisdictional gathering assets from 
EQM Gathering Opco, LLC (EQM) (pipelines and related equipment) for 
operation of the new Swarts Horizontal Storage Well; and
     the sale of 580 million cubic feet of base gas from the 
Swarts Complex.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability 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; and newspapers and libraries in the project 
area. The EA is only available in electronic format. It may be viewed 
and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on the natural 
gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents). In addition, the EA 
may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the FERC's website. Click 
on the eLibrary link (https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search), 
select ``General Search'' and enter the docket number in the ``Docket 
Number'' field, excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP23-507). Be 
sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, 
please contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or 
toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.
    The EA is not a decision document. It presents Commission staff's 
independent analysis of the environmental issues for the Commission to 
consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this proceeding. 
Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. Your

[[Page 86890]]

comments should focus on the EA's disclosure and discussion of 
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 the Commission 
has the opportunity to consider your comments prior to making its 
decision on this project, it is important that we receive your comments 
in Washington, DC on or before 5 p.m. Eastern Time on January 8, 2024.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to file 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic 
filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-
3676 or [email protected]. Please carefully follow these 
instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.
    (1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment 
feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to 
FERC Online. This is an easy method for submitting brief, text-only 
comments on a project;
    (2) You can also file your comments electronically using the 
eFiling feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the 
link to FERC Online. 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 Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP23-
507-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service 
must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.
    Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, 
but you do not need intervenor status to have your comments considered. 
Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of 
the Commission's decision. At this point in this proceeding, the 
timeframe for filing timely intervention requests has expired. Any 
person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a motion 
to intervene out-of-time pursuant to Rule 214(b)(3) and (d) of the 
Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and 
(d)) and show good cause why the time limitation should be waived. 
Motions to intervene are more fully described at https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene.
    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. The eLibrary link 
also provides access to the texts of all formal documents issued by the 
Commission, such as orders, notices, and rulemakings.
    The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports 
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission 
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners, 
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access 
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For 
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is 
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or [email protected].
    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 https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to 
register for eSubscription.

    Dated: December 8, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-27519 Filed 12-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P