[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 114 (Thursday, June 13, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35622-35624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-14016]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP13-160-000]
Northwest Pipeline GP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Blue Water LNG Meter Station
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of the Blue Water Liquefied Natural
Gas (LNG) Meter Project involving construction and operation of
facilities by Northwest Pipeline GP (Northwest) in Benton County,
Washington. The Commission will use this EA in its decision-making
process to determine whether the project is in the public convenience
and necessity.
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested
agencies on the project. Your input will help the Commission staff
determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. Please note that
the scoping period will close on July 8, 2013.
This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental
mailing list for this project. State and local government
representatives should notify their constituents of this proposed
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
Northwest provided landowners adjacent to the proposed meter
station with a fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate
Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know.'' This fact
sheet addresses a number of typically-asked questions, including how to
participate in the Commission's proceedings. It is also available for
viewing on the FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov).
Summary of the Proposed Project
Northwest proposes to construct and operate a new LNG meter station
and associated piping within the yard of its existing Plymouth Peak
Shaving Plant (Plant). The Plant is located on about 72 acres on the
north side of the Columbia River in Benton County, Washington, about 19
miles south of the city of Kennewick. The Plant consists of two LNG
storage tanks with a capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet each, two
liquefaction trains capable of liquefying 12 million standard cubic
feet per day of natural gas, vaporization facilities capable of
vaporizing 305,300 dekatherms of natural gas per day (Dth/d), and a
boil-off gas compression system.\1\
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\1\ These facilities were authorized by the FERC in Docket Nos.
CP74-46-000 and CP76-106-000.
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The proposed Blue Water LNG Meter could supply up to 216,000
gallons of LNG per day (or 17,705 Dth/d) to Transfuels LLC
(Transfuels). Transfuels proposes to construct and operate a non-
jurisdictional LNG trunk loading facility on 20 acres of current
agricultural land directly north of the fenced boundary for Northwest's
Plant. The jurisdictional facilities proposed by Northwest would
include:
A new 360-foot-long pipeline, supported on a pipe rack, to
convey LNG from the existing transfer pipeline between the storage
tanks, through the new meter runs, and then to the custody transfer
point at the plant boundary fence;
Three new 32-foot-long meter runs and a one-inch-diameter
receipt meter and three-inch-diameter piping to handle boil-off-gas
coming back from the custody transfer point, all covered by a 20-foot
by 24-foot shelter;
[[Page 35623]]
Two new auxiliary meters to measure gas volumes used by
customers;
New chromatographic gas analysis and electronic flow
measurement equipment, housed in a fully enclosed building, 26-feet-
long by 22-feet-wide, located adjacent to the north of the meter runs
shelter;
A new two-inch-diameter vent line to contain and transfer
gas to an existing relief header in the event gas is released,
supported on the new pipe rack; and
A new cable tray to house power and communication wires,
supported on the new pipe rack.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.\2\
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\2\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in
the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to all those
receiving this notice in the mail and are available at www.ferc.gov
using the link called ``eLibrary'' or from the Commission's Public
Reference Room, 888 First Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call
(202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to
the last page of this notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction
All construction activities would take place within the 72-acre
property of Northwest's Plant. Excavation for new facilities related to
the Blue Water LNG Meter Station project would cover about 0.05 acre.
The EA Process
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. The NEPA also requires
us \3\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about
proposals. This process is referred to as ``scoping.'' The main goal of
the scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important
environmental issues. By this notice, the Commission requests public
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. We will
consider all filed comments during the preparation of the EA.
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\3\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the construction and operation of the proposed project under these
general headings:
Geology and soils;
Water resources and wetlands;
Vegetation and wildlife;
Cultural resources;
Air quality and noise; and
Public safety.
We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed
project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
The EA will present our independent analysis of the issues. The EA
will be available in the public record through eLibrary. Depending on
the comments received during the scoping process, we may also publish
and distribute the EA to the public for an allotted comment period. We
will consider all comments on the EA before making our recommendations
to the Commission. To ensure we have the opportunity to consider and
address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in the
Public Participation section on page 5 of this notice.
With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction by law
and/or special expertise with respect to the environmental issues of
this project to formally cooperate with us in the preparation of the
EA.\4\ Agencies that would like to request cooperating agency status
should follow the instructions for filing comments provided under the
Public Participation section of this notice.
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\4\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), Part 1501.6.
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Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act
In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's
implementing regulations for section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultations
with the Washington State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to
solicit their views, and those of other government agencies, interested
Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on
historic properties.\5\ We will define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project
develops. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a minimum
encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples include
construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, and access
roads). Our EA for this project will document our findings on the
impacts on historic properties and summarize the status of
consultations under section 106.
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\5\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations
are at 36 CFR Part 800. Those regulations define historic properties
as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure,
or object included in or eligible for inclusion in the National
Register of Historic Places.
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Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Northwest. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
Safety issues related to vapor dispersion from the
jurisdictional Blue Water Meter Station; and
Environmental review of the non-jurisdictional Transfuels
LNG loading facility by Benton County, Washington.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. 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 timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so
that the Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before July
8, 2013.
For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please
reference the project docket number (CP13-160-000) with your
submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and
has expert staff available to assist you at (202) 502-8258 or
[email protected].
(1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment
feature on the Commission's Web site (www.ferc.gov) under the link to
Documents and Filings. This is an easy method for interested persons to
submit brief, text-only comments on a project;
(2) You can file your comments electronically using the eFiling
feature on the Commission's Web site (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 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 following address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC
20426.
[[Page 35624]]
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local
government representatives and agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest groups; interested Indian tribes; and
local libraries and newspapers. This list also includes all affected
landowners (as defined in the Commission's regulations) who are
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily
for project purposes, or who own homes within certain distances of
aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits comments on the project.
We will update the environmental mailing list as the analysis proceeds
to ensure that we send the information related to this environmental
review to all individuals, organizations, and government entities
interested in and/or potentially affected by the proposed project.
If we publish and distribute the EA, copies will be sent to the
environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the compact
disk version, or if you would like to remove your name from the mailing
list, please return the attached Information Request (appendix 2).
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling.
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are in
the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the Commission's Web
site.
Additional Information
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 at 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., CP13-
160). 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 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 now 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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.
Dated: June 6, 2013.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-14016 Filed 6-12-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P