[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 FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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]
 BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


