East Aurora Compressor Station: Notice of Intent

8/7/2019 East Aurora Compressor Station: Notice of Intent

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICAFEDERAL ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation Docket No. CP11-128-000Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company Docket No. CP11-133-000

NOTICE OF INTENT TO PREPARE ANENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FOR THE PROPOSED NORTHERN ACCESS

PROJECT AND STATION 230C PROJECT,REQUEST FOR COMMENTS ON ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES,AND NOTICE OF PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL SITE REVIEW

(March 29, 2011)

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission)will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will discuss the environmentalimpacts of two related projects proposed by National Fuel Gas Supply Corporation(National Fuel) and Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (TGP). National Fuels NorthernAccess Project would involve construction and operation of facilities in Erie County,New York and Potter County, Pennsylvania. TGPs Station 230C Project would involveconstruction and operation of facilities in Niagara County, New York. This EA will beused by the Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether theseprojects are in the public convenience and necessity.

This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the Commission willuse to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the projects. Your inputwill help the Commission staff determine what issues need to be evaluated in the EA.Please note that the scoping period will close on April 28, 2011.

Commission staff will conduct two onsite environmental reviews of NationalFuels proposed East Aurora Compressor Station site and its Ellisburg CompressorStation expansion. All interested parties planning to attend must provide their own

transportation. Those attending should meet at the following locations:


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Docket Nos. CP11-128-000CP11-133-000

new discharge flow check meters and check valves along the existing 20-and 30-inch pipelines;

new station discharge cooling equipment; and modification to station automation systems and installation of yard valves

to allow bi-directional flow.

The general locations of the projects facilities are shown in appendix 1.1

Land Requirements for Construction

Construction of the Northern Access Project facilities would disturb a total ofabout 12.6 acres of land for the aboveground facilities. Following construction, a total ofabout 11.4 acres would be maintained for permanent operation of the projects facilities.

Construction of the Station 230C Project facilities would disturb about 7 acres of

land for the compressor station upgrades and modifications; this includes 4.6 acres oftemporary workspace outside the existing station fence line. About 2.4 acres of landwithin the station fence line would be required for operation of the project facilities.

The EA Process

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to takeinto account the environmental impacts that could result from an action whenever itconsiders the issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also

requires us2 to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals. Thisprocess 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, theCommission requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA.All comments received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.

In the EA we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the constructionand operation of the proposed projects under these general headings:

geology and soils; land use; water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;

1 The appendices referenced in this notice are not being printed in the FederalRegister. Copies of appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the mail andare available at www.ferc.gov using the link called eLibrary or from the CommissionsPublic Reference Room, 888 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the last two pages of thisnotice.

2 We, us, and our refer to the environmental staff of the CommissionsOffice of Energy Projects.

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http://www.ferc.gov/http://www.ferc.gov/


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Docket Nos. CP11-128-000CP11-133-000

endangered and threatened species; vegetation and wildlife; cultural resources; air quality and noise; and public safety.

We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed projects or portionsof the projects, and make recommendations on how to lessen or avoid impacts on thevarious resource areas.

Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented in the EA. The EA willbe placed in the public record and, depending on the comments received during thescoping process, may be published and distributed to the public. A comment period willbe allotted if the EA is published for review. We will consider all comments on the EAbefore we make our recommendations to the Commission. To ensure your comments are

considered, please carefully follow the instructions in the Public Participation sectionbeginning on page 5.

With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertisewith respect to environmental issues to formally cooperate with us in the preparation ofthe EA. These agencies may choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposalrelative to their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating agencystatus should follow the instructions for filing comments provided under the PublicParticipation section of this notice.

Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act

In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservations implementingregulations for section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, we are using thisnotice to initiate consultation with applicable State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO),and to solicit their views and those of other government agencies, interested Indian tribes,

and the public on the projects potential effects on historic properties.3 We will definethe project-specific Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPOs asthe projects are further developed. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at aminimum encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples includeconstruction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards, compressor stations, and access

roads). Our EA for these projects will document our findings on the impacts on historicproperties and summarize the status of consultations under section 106.

3 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservations regulations are at Title 36,Code of Federal Regulations, Part 800. Historic properties are defined in thoseregulations as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or objectincluded in or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic Places.

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Public Participation

You can make a difference by providing us with your specific comments orconcerns about the projects. Your comments should focus on the potential environmentaleffects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts.The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that yourcomments are timely and properly recorded, please send your comments so that they willbe received in Washington, DC on or before April 28, 2011.

For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to submit yourcomments to the Commission. In all instances please reference the project docketnumbers (CP11-128-000 and CP11-133-000) with your submission. The Commissionencourages electronic filing of comments and has expert eFiling staff available to assistyou at (202) 502-8258 [email protected].

(1) You may file your comments electronically by using the eCommentfeature, which is located on the Commission's website at www.ferc.govunder the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an easy methodfor interested persons to submit brief, text-only comments on a projects;

(2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling feature,which is located on the Commissions website at www.ferc.gov under thelink to Documents and Filings. With eFiling, you can provide comments ina variety of formats by attaching them as a file with your submission. NeweFiling users must first create an account by clicking on eRegister. Youwill be asked to select the type of filing you are making. A comment on a

particular project is considered a Comment on a Filing; or

(3) You may file a paper copy of your comments at the following address:

Kimberly D. Bose, SecretaryFederal Energy Regulatory Commission888 First Street NE, Room 1AWashington, DC 20426

Environmental Mailing List

The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and localgovernment representatives and agencies; elected officials; environmental and publicinterest groups; Native American Tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries and

newspapers. This list also includes all affected landowners (as defined in theCommissions regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors,whose property may be used temporarily for project purposes, or whoown homes within certain distances of aboveground facilities, andanyone who submits comments on the projects. We will update the

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mailto:[email protected]://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspxhttp://www.ferc.gov/http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asphttp://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asphttp://www.ferc.gov/http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asphttp://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/eregistration.aspmailto:[email protected]://ferconline.ferc.gov/QuickComment.aspxhttp://www.ferc.gov/http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asphttp://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/efiling.asphttp://www.ferc.gov/http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/docs-filing.asphttp://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/eregistration.asp


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environmental mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that wesend the information related to this environmental review to allindividuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/orpotentially affected by the proposed projects.

If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the environmentalmailing list for public review and comment. If you would prefer to receive a papercopy of the document instead of the CD version or would like to remove your namefrom the mailing list, please return the attached Information Request (appendix 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you maywant to become an intervenor which is an official party to theCommissions proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the

process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard bythe courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. Anintervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a request tointervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are included in theUsers Guide under the e-filing link on the Commissions website.

Additional Information

Additional information about the projects is available from the Commission'sOffice of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the FERC website at www.ferc.gov

using the eLibrary link. Click on the eLibrary link, click on General Search andenter the docket number, excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number field (i.e.,CP11-128 or CP11-133). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. Forassistance, please contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] or tollfree at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659. The eLibrary link alsoprovides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such asorders, notices, and rulemakings.

In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called eSubscription whichallows you to keep track of all formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets. Thiscan reduce the amount of time you spend researching proceedings by automatically

providing you with notification of these filings, document summaries, and direct links tothe documents. Go to www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the Commissions calendarlocated at www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other relatedinformation.

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mailto:[email protected]://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htmhttp://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspxmailto:[email protected]://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htmhttp://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx


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Kimberly D. Bose,Secretary.

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Appendix 1


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Figure 1Northern Access Project Location Map


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Figure 2Station 230C Project Location Map


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Docket No. CP11-128-000 Appendix 2Docket No. CP11-133-000

INFORMATION REQUEST

Northern Access Project andStation 230C Project

Name

Agency

Address

City State Zip Code

Please send me a paper copy of the published NEPA document

Please remove my name from the mailing list


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FROM

ATTN: OEP Gas 1, PJ - 11.1Federal Energy Regulatory Commission888 First Street, NEWashington, DC 20426

Docket No.CP11-128 (Northern Access Project)Docket No. CP11-133 (Station 230C Project)

Staple or Tape Here