[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34838-34839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-15703]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. PF18-5-000]


Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Planned Turnpike-Palmetto 
Road Relocation Project, 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 Turnpike-Palmetto Road 
Relocation Project involving construction and operation of facilities 
by Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC (FGT) in Miami-Dade and 
Broward Counties, Florida. 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 about issues regarding the project. The National Environmental 
Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Commission to take into account the 
environmental impacts that could result from its action whenever it 
considers the issuance of a Certificate of Public Convenience and 
Necessity. NEPA also requires the Commission to discover 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. To ensure that your comments are timely 
and properly recorded, please submit your comments so that the 
Commission receives them in Washington, DC on or before 5:00 p.m. 
Eastern Time on August 16, 2018.
    You can make a difference by submitting 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. Your input will help the Commission 
staff determine what issues they need to evaluate in the EA. Commission 
staff will consider all comments filed during the preparation of the 
EA.
    If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the 
opening of this docket on May 4, 2018, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. PF18-5-000 to ensure they are considered as part 
of this proceeding.
    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 planned 
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, a pipeline company 
representative may contact you about the acquisition of an easement to 
construct, operate, and maintain the planned facilities. The company 
would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable easement agreement. You 
are not required to enter into an agreement. However, if the Commission 
approves the project, that approval conveys with it the right of 
eminent domain. Therefore, if you and the company do not reach an 
easement agreement, the pipeline company could initiate condemnation 
proceedings in court. In such instances, compensation would be 
determined by a judge in accordance with state law.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC website (www.ferc.gov). This fact sheet addresses a 
number of typically asked questions, including the use of eminent 
domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.

Public Participation

    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic 
filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-
3676 or [email protected]. Please carefully follow these 
instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.
    (1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment 
feature, which is located on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) 
under the link to Documents and Filings. Using eComment is an easy 
method for submitting brief, text-only comments on a project;
    (2) You can file your comments electronically by using the eFiling 
feature, which is located on the Commission's website (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 will 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 can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the following address. Be sure to reference the project docket number 
(PF18-5-000) with your submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, 
DC 20426.

Summary of the Planned Project

    FGT plans to abandon approximately 19.1 miles of existing 18-inch-
diameter mainline pipeline and relocate and construct approximately 
15.4 miles of 24-inch-diameter mainline pipeline and appurtenances in 
Broward and Miami-Dade Counties, Florida. FGT also plans to modify 
existing lateral interconnects from the 18-inch-diameter mainline 
pipeline to the planned 24-inch-mainline pipeline.
    This Project is designed to resolve direct conflicts with proposed 
Florida Department of Transportation construction and operation of 
express lanes along 21 miles of State Road 826/Palmetto Expressway and 
State Road 91/Florida Turnpike and the proposed system-to-system 
connection between the Palmetto Expressway, Interstate 95, and the 
Florida Turnpike.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice will not appear in 
the Federal Register. Copies of the 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.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Abandonment and construction of the planned facilities would 
disturb about 433.3 acres of land for the aboveground facilities and 
the pipelines. Following construction, FGT would maintain about 131.7 
acres for permanent operation of the Project's facilities; the 
remaining acreage would be restored and revert to former uses. All of 
the planned pipeline route parallels existing pipeline, utility, or 
road rights-of-way.

The EA Process

    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the planned project under these general 
headings:
     Geology and soils;
     land use;
     water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     cultural resources;

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     vegetation and wildlife;
     air quality and noise;
     endangered and threatened species;
     public safety; and
     cumulative impacts.
    Commission staff will also evaluate possible alternatives to the 
planned project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on 
how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Although no formal application has been filed, Commission staff 
have already initiated a NEPA review under the Commission's pre-filing 
process. The purpose of the pre-filing process is to encourage early 
involvement of interested stakeholders and to identify and resolve 
issues before the Commission receives an application. As part of the 
pre-filing review, Commission staff will contact federal and state 
agencies to discuss their involvement in the scoping process and the 
preparation of the EA.
    The EA will present Commission staffs' independent analysis of the 
issues. The EA will be available in the public record through 
eLibrary.\2\ The Commission will publish and distribute the EA to the 
public for an allotted comment period. Commission staff will consider 
and address all comments on the EA before making recommendations to the 
Commission. To ensure Commission staff have the opportunity to consider 
and address your comments, please carefully follow the instructions in 
the Public Participation section, beginning on page 2.
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    \2\ For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to the 
last page of this notice.
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    With this notice, the Commission is asking agencies with 
jurisdiction by law and/or special expertise with respect to the 
environmental issues related to this project to formally cooperate in 
the preparation of the EA.\3\ 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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    \3\ The Council on Environmental Quality regulations addressing 
cooperating agency responsibilities are at Title 40, Code of Federal 
Regulations, Part 1501.6.
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Consultation 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, the Commission is using this notice to initiate 
consultation with the applicable State Historic Preservation Office(s), 
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.\4\ Commission staff will define the 
project-specific Area of Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with 
the SHPO(s) 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, compressor stations, and access roads). The 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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    \4\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation regulations 
are at Title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, 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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Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list includes: Federal, state, and local 
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other 
interested parties; 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. Commission staff will update the environmental 
mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that information 
related to this environmental review is sent to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the planned project.
    Copies of the EA 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 a CD version or would like to remove your 
name from the mailing list, please return the attached ``Mailing List 
Update Form'' (appendix 2).

Becoming an Intervenor

    Once FGT files its application with the Commission, you may want to 
become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the Commission's 
proceeding. Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the 
Commission's decision 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 
pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214). Motions to intervene are more fully 
described at http://www.ferc.gov/resources/guides/how-to/intervene.asp. 
Please note that the Commission will not accept requests for intervenor 
status at this time. You must wait until the Commission receives a 
formal application for the project, after which the Commission will 
issue a public notice that establishes an intervention deadline.

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 website (www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. Click on the 
eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the docket number 
in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the last three digits (i.e., 
PF18-5). 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 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 www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/esubscription.asp.
    Finally, public sessions 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: July 17, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
 Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-15703 Filed 7-20-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


