Document ID: FERC-2020-1617-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: Northern Natural Gas Co.; Northern Lights 2021 Expansion Project
Posted Date: 2020-12-21T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 245 (Monday, December 21, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 83073-83074]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-28095]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP20-503-000]

Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Northern Lights 2021 
Expansion Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the 
Northern Lights 2021 Expansion Project (Project), proposed by Northern 
Natural Gas Company (Northern) in the above-referenced docket. Northern 
requests authorization to construct the Project, which will consist of 
(1) an 0.80-mile-long extension of its 24-inch-diameter Willmar D 
Branch Line; (2) a 0.63-mile-long 24-inch-diameter Carlton Interconnect 
Loop; (3) replacement of the 0.08-mile-long 8-inch-diameter Viking 
Interconnect Branch Line with a 12-inch-diameter branch line of the 
same length; (4) a new compressor station (Hinckley Compressor 
Station); (5) modifications of the Pierz Compressor Station and 
Interconnect; and (6) additional above-grade facilities including a 
launcher, receiver, and valve setting. The Project facilities would be 
in Dakota, Scott, Carlton, Morrison, and Pine counties in Minnesota.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Northern Lights 2021 Expansion 
Project in accordance with the requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). 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 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. CP20-503). 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 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 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 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on January 14, 2021.
    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 FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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

[[Page 83074]]

    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP20-
503-000) 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/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides.
    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.
    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 15, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-28095 Filed 12-18-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P