[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 205 (Tuesday, October 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53467-53468]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23114]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP18-538-000]


Sendero Carlsbad Gateway, LLC; Notice of Schedule for 
Environmental Review of the Gateway Project

    On August 9, 2018, Sendero Carlsbad Gateway, LLC (Gateway) filed an 
application in Docket No. CP18-538-000 requesting a Certificate of 
Public Convenience and Necessity pursuant to section 7(c) of the 
Natural Gas Act to construct and operate certain natural gas pipeline 
facilities. The proposed project is known as the Gateway Project 
(Project), and would provide about 400 million standard cubic feet of 
natural gas per day from Gateway's newly expanded Carlsbad Plant (a 
cryogenic gas processing plant) to the Agua Blanca intrastate pipeline 
owned by White Water Midstream, LLC. According to Gateway, the Project 
would help alleviate natural gas supply delivery constraints in 
southeast New Mexico and satisfy overall demand in the western region 
of the United States.
    On August 22, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission or FERC) issued its Notice of Application for the Project. 
Among other things, that notice alerted agencies issuing federal 
authorizations 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 staff's 
Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Project. This instant notice 
identifies the FERC staff's planned schedule for the completion of the 
EA for the Project.

Schedule for Environmental Review

Issuance of EA--January 11, 2019
90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline--April 11, 2019

    If a schedule change becomes necessary, additional notice will be 
provided so that the relevant agencies are kept informed of the 
Project's progress.

Project Description

    The Gateway Project would consist of the following facilities:
     Approximately 23 miles of 24-inch-diameter natural gas 
transmission pipeline in Eddy County, New Mexico and Culberson County, 
Texas;
     a new meter station (including a mainline block valve and 
pig \1\ launcher) within the existing Carlsbad Plant in Eddy County;
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    \1\ A ``pig'' is a tool that the pipeline company inserts into 
and pushes through the pipeline for cleaning the pipeline, 
conducting internal inspections, or other purposes.
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     a mainline block valve at milepost 15.0 in Eddy County; 
and
     a pig receiver and mainline block valve at milepost 23.3 
near a White Water Midstream, LLC meter station in Culberson County.

Background

    On August 29, 2018, the Commission issued a Notice of Intent to 
Prepare An Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Gateway Project, 
And Request for Comments on Environmental Issues (NOI). The NOI was 
sent to affected landowners; federal, state, and local government 
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; 
Native American tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries 
and newspapers.
    In response to the NOI, the Commission received comments from

[[Page 53468]]

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Texas Commission on Environmental 
Quality, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, New Mexico Department of 
Game and Fish, New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office, and one 
Native American tribe. The primary issues raised by the commentors were 
appropriate best management practices for construction and restoration, 
special status species, surface water, and impacts on vegetation and 
wildlife. All substantive comments 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 projects are 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., 
CP18-538), 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: October 17, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-23114 Filed 10-22-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


