[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 149 (Monday, August 3, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46616-46619]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16810]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP20-481-000]


Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Rio Bravo Pipeline Project 
Amendment, 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 Rio Bravo Pipeline Project 
Amendment (Project Amendment) involving construction and operation of 
facilities by Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC (RB Pipeline) in Jim 
Wells, Kleberg, Kenedy, Willacy, and Cameron Counties, Texas. 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 Amendment. 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

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comments on the scope of 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 27, 2020. Comments may be 
submitted in written form.
    Further details on how to submit comments are provided in the 
Public Participation section of this notice.
    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 written comments during the preparation of the 
EA.
    If you sent comments on this project to the Commission before the 
opening of this docket on June 16, 2020, you will need to file those 
comments in Docket No. CP20-481- 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 proposed 
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 proposed 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 Amendment, the Natural Gas Act conveys the right 
of eminent domain to the company. 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.
    RB Pipeline provided landowners with a fact sheet prepared by the 
FERC entitled An Interstate Natural Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I 
Need To Know? 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. It is also available for viewing on 
the FERC website (www.ferc.gov) under the natural gas Landowner Topics 
link.

Public Participation

    The Commission offers a free service called eSubscription which 
makes it easy to stay informed of all issuances and submittals 
regarding the dockets/projects to which you subscribe. These instant 
email notifications are the fastest way to receive notification and 
provide a link to the document files which can reduce the amount of 
time you spend researching proceedings. Go to https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to register for eSubscription.
    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 FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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 FERC Online. 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 FERC Online. 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 Commission. Be sure to reference the project docket number (CP20-
481-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service 
must be addressed to: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 
20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: 
Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, MD 20852.
    Please note this is not your only public input opportunity; please 
refer to the review process flow chart 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. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, 
refer to the last page of this notice.
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Summary of the Proposed Project

    RB Pipeline proposes to modify the facilities approved in the 
Commission's Order Granting Authorizations under Sections 3 and 7 of 
the Natural Gas Act (Order) issued on November 22, 2019. The Rio Bravo 
Pipeline, as authorized, consists of a 2.4-mile-long, 42-inch-diameter 
pipeline, including 0.8 mile of dual pipeline (referred to as the 
Header System) in Kleber and Jim Wells Counties; 135.5 miles of 
parallel 42-inch-diameter pipelines originating in Kleberg County and 
terminating at Rio Grande LNG, LLC's Rio Grande liquefied natural gas 
(LNG) Terminal in Cameron County (referred to as Pipelines 1 and 2); 
four metering sites along the Header System; two interconnect booster 
compressor stations, each with a metering site; three compressor 
stations (one at the Rio Grande LNG Terminal); and other associated 
utilities, systems, and facilities, all in Texas.
    As part of the Project Amendment, RB Pipeline proposes the 
following pipeline facility modifications:
     Decrease the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) 
of the 2.4- mile-long Header System pipeline from 1,480 pounds per 
square inch gauge (psig) to 1,200 psig;
     construct an extension of 0.2 mile of mainline pipeline 
for each Pipeline 1 and 2 for a total of 135.7 miles each;
     increase the diameter of Pipeline 1 from 42 inches to 48 
inches and increase the MAOP of both pipelines from 1,480 psig to 1,825 
psig (Pipeline 2 will remain a 42-inch-diameter pipeline); and
     increase the transportation capacity of Pipeline 1 from 
2.25 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) to 2.6 Bcf/d, and decrease the 
transportation capacity of Pipeline 2 from 2.25 Bcf/d to 1.9 Bcf/d, 
resulting in the total authorized capacity of 4.5 Bcf/d remaining 
unchanged.
    The Project Amendment also includes modifications to the following 
aboveground facilities that are authorized (but as yet unbuilt) along 
the Rio Bravo Pipeline right-of- way:
     Eliminate Compressor Station 2 in Kenedy County;
     eliminate Compressor Station 3 within the Rio Grande LNG 
Terminal in Cameron County, except for a meter and other ancillary 
facilities within the LNG Terminal;
     eliminate all facilities associated with Booster Stations 
1 and 2, including

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related meter stations, in Kenedy County; and
     increase the horsepower (hp) at Compressor Station 1 from 
180,000 hp to 282,000 hp by switching from six 30,000-hp natural gas 
compressor units to four 43,000-hp natural gas compressor units and two 
55,000-hp compressor units.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
2.

Land Requirements for Construction

    The Rio Bravo Pipeline system, as authorized, will affect about 
2,501.2 acres during construction; and about 1,330 acres of land would 
be retained for permanent use during operation. The Project Amendment 
would modify those totals to affect 2,457.8 acres during construction 
and 1,286.7 acres during operation; the reduction in land requirements 
would be due in large part to the elimination of Compressor Station 2 
and Booster Stations 1 and 2.

The EA Process

    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the Project Amendment under these general 
headings:

 geology and soils;
 water resources and wetlands;
 vegetation and wildlife;
 threatened and endangered species;
 cultural resources;
 socioeconomics;
 land use;
 air quality and noise;
 public safety; and
 cumulative impacts.

    Commission staff will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the 
proposed project or portions of the project, and make recommendations 
on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    The EA will present Commission staff's independent analysis of the 
issues. The EA will be available in electronic format in the public 
record through eLibrary \2\ and the Commission's natural gas 
environmental documents web page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental- documents). If eSubscribed, you 
will receive instant email notification when the EA is issued. The EA 
may be issued for an allotted public comment period. Commission staff 
will consider all comments on the EA before making recommendations to 
the Commission. To ensure Commission staff have the opportunity to 
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 of 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, 
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\ The EA for this project will 
document 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's 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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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    Commission staff have already identified several issues that 
deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by RB Pipeline. 
This preliminary list of environmental issues may change based on your 
comments and our analysis:

 alternative systems analysis;
 visual resources;
 pipeline safety associated with the increased diameter and 
capacity of Pipelines 1 and 2;
 air quality impacts associated with the pipeline and 
aboveground facilities;
 noise impacts associated with pipeline construction and 
operation;
 cumulative impacts; and
 climate change.

Environmental Mailing List

    The environmental mailing list for the Project Amendment 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 and includes a mailing 
address with their comments. Commission staff will update the 
environmental mailing list as the analysis proceeds to ensure that 
Commission notices related to this environmental review are sent to all 
individuals, organizations, and government entities interested in and/
or potentially affected by the proposed project.
    If the Commission issues the EA for an allotted public comment 
period, a Notice of Availability of the EA will be sent to the 
environmental mailing list and will provide instructions to access the 
electronic document on the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov). If you need 
to make changes to your name/address, or if you would like to remove 
your name from the mailing list, please return the attached ``Mailing 
List Update Form'' (appendix 3).

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 at 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., CP20-
481). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For 
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or (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.
    Public sessions or site visits will be posted on the Commission's 
calendar located at https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/events along with 
other related information.


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    Dated: July 28, 2020.
Nathaniel J. Davis, Sr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2020-16810 Filed 7-31-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


