[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19752-19753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07375]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP20-12-000]
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Schedule for
Environmental Review of the Leach Xpress Project Amendment
On November 6, 2019, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia Gas)
filed
[[Page 19753]]
an application under section 7(c) of the Natural Gas Act to amend the
existing Order Issuing Certificates and Approving Abandonment issued on
January 19, 2017 (Order) for the Leach XPress Project (LXP) in Docket
No. CP15-514-000. In the LXP Amendment, Columbia Gas proposes to modify
its operation of the Ceredo Compressor Station authorized in the Order
and requests modifying the Order noise level requirement for the Ceredo
and Crawford Compressor Stations. The proposed LXP Amendment would
allow Columbia Gas to operate the Ceredo and Crawford Compressor
Stations under the modified full load scenario, and ensure that the
noise level requirement associated with the compressor stations would
be consistent with the Commission's policy.
On November 19, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC or Commission) issued its Notice of Application for the LXP
Amendment. Among other things, that notice alerted agencies issuing
federal authorization of the requirement to complete all necessary
reviews and to reach a final decision on a request for a federal
authorization within 90 days of the date of issuance of the
Commission's staff's Environmental Assessment (EA) for the LXP
Amendment. This instant notice identifies the FERC staff's planned
schedule for completion of an EA for the LXP Amendment.
Schedule for Environmental Review
Issuance of EA--May 7, 2020
90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline--August 5, 2020
If a schedule change becomes necessary, additional notice will be
provided so that the relevant agencies are kept informed of the LXP
Amendment's progress.
Project Description
Columbia Gas is proposing to modify its operation of the Ceredo
Compressor Station authorized in the Order to reduce operational noise
levels on noise sensitive areas by: (1) Modifying the full-load
operation of the Ceredo Compressor Station to limit the use of the
seven existing legacy reciprocating units operating prior to the LXP
Order to four units at a given time; and (2) allowing for the use of
additional horsepower (hp) at the Ceredo Compressor Station that is
available from existing electric-driven compressor units installed
since issuance of the LXP Order. Columbia Gas also requests amending
the Order noise level requirement for the Ceredo and Crawford
Compressor Stations to conform to the Commission staff recommended
environmental condition 31 in the September 2016 final Environmental
Impact Statement for the LXP rather than environmental condition 31 of
the Order.
Background
On February 26, 2020, the Commission issued a Notice of Intent to
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Leach XPress
Project Amendment and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
(NOI). The NOI was sent to affected landowners; federal, state, and
local government agencies; elected officials; other interested parties;
and local libraries and newspapers. In response to the NOI, the
Commission received one comment letter from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency raising issues including: Expected noise impacts and
existing and potential alternative noise mitigation applicable to noise
sensitive receivers in the vicinity of the compressor stations; and
clarification of what facility modifications Columbia Gas carried out
at the compressor stations under the LXP Order. All substantive
comments received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be
addressed in the EA.
Additional Information
In order to receive notification of the issuance of the EA and to
keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets,
the Commission offers a free service called eSubscription. 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/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
Additional information about the LXP Amendment 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, select
``General Search'' from the eLibrary menu, enter the selected date
range and ``Docket Number'' excluding the last three digits (i.e.,
CP20-12), and follow the instructions. For assistance with access to
eLibrary, the helpline can be reached at (866) 208-3676, TTY (202) 502-
8659, or at [email protected]. The eLibrary link on the FERC
website also provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by
the Commission, such as orders, notices, and rule makings.
Dated: April 1, 2020.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-07375 Filed 4-7-20; 8:45 am]
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