Document ID: FERC-2020-1187-0001
Agency: ferc
Document Type: Notice
Title: Environmental Assessments; Availability, etc.: North Baja Pipeline, LLC; North Baja XPress Project
Posted Date: 2020-09-14T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 178 (Monday, September 14, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56598-56599]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-20169]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP20-27-000]

North Baja Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Availability of the 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Baja Xpress Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the North 
Baja XPress Project, proposed by North Baja Pipeline, LLC (North Baja) 
in the above-referenced docket. North Baja requests authorization to 
modify an existing compressor station in La Paz County, Arizona, as 
well as install additional flow measurement facilities and piping 
modifications at two existing meter stations in La Paz County, Arizona, 
and Imperial County, California, respectively. The project would enable 
the transport of 495,000 dekatherms per day to the United States/Mexico 
border. North Baja states that the purpose of the project is to create 
capacity to meet growing market demand and provide transportation of 
feed gas for the Energia Costa Azul liquefied natural gas terminal in 
Baja California, Mexico.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the North Baja XPress 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

[[Page 56599]]

mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal action 
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
participated as a cooperating agency in the preparation of the EA. 
Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special expertise with 
respect to resources potentially affected by the proposal and 
participate in the NEPA analysis. The BLM will adopt and use the EA to 
consider the issuance of a right-of-way grant for the use of a 
potential temporary workspace on BLM-administered public lands adjacent 
to the Ogilby Meter Station. North Baja submitted an application 
requesting a right-of-way for use of a temporary workspace on BLM-
administered public lands.
    The proposed North Baja XPress Project includes the following 
facilities:
     The construction of one new 31,900-horsepower compressor 
unit and restaging of two existing 7,700-horsepower compressor units at 
North Baja's existing Ehrenberg Compressor Station in La Paz County, 
Arizona; and
     the addition of flow measurement facilities and piping 
modifications at North Baja's existing El Paso and Ogilby Meter 
Stations in La Paz County, Arizona and Imperial County, California, 
respectively.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability for the 
project 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/naturalgas/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://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/elibrary/overview), select ``General Search'' and enter the 
docket number in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the last three 
digits (i.e. CP20-27). 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 issues raised 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 October 8, 
2020.
    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
    (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-
27-000) 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, MD 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: September 8, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-20169 Filed 9-11-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P