[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 149 (Thursday, August 4, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47741-47742]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-16708]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP21-94-000]


Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC; Notice of 
Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Proposed Regional Energy Access Expansion

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Regional Energy Access Expansion (Project), proposed by 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco) in the above-
referenced docket. Transco requests authorization to construct and 
operate approximately 36.0 miles of pipeline loop \1\ and one new 
compressor station, abandon and replace certain existing compression 
facilities, and modify existing compressor stations and facilities in 
Pennsylvania and New Jersey to provide about 829 million standard cubic 
feet of natural gas per day to multiple delivery points along Transco's 
existing system in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, providing 
customers with enhanced access to Marcellus and Utica Shale natural gas 
supplies.
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    \1\ A pipeline loop is a segment of pipe constructed parallel to 
an existing pipeline to increase capacity.
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    The final EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC 
staff concludes that approval of the proposed Project, with the 
mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would result in some 
adverse environmental impacts; however, with the exception of climate 
change impacts, those impacts would not be significant. Construction 
and operation of the Project would increase the atmospheric 
concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG), in combination with past, 
current, and future emissions from all other sources globally and would 
contribute incrementally to future climate change impacts. The EIS does 
not characterize the Project's GHG emissions as significant or 
insignificant because the Commission is conducting a generic proceeding 
to determine whether and how the Commission will conduct climate change 
significance determinations going forward.
    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers participated as cooperating agencies in the preparation of 
the EIS. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by law or special 
expertise with respect to resources potentially affected by the 
proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. The EIS is intended to 
fulfill the cooperating federal agencies' NEPA obligations, as 
applicable, and to support subsequent conclusions and decisions made by 
the cooperating agencies. Although cooperating agencies provide input 
to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the final EIS, the 
agencies may present their own conclusions and recommendations in any 
applicable Records of Decision for the Project.
    The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following Project facilities:
     installation of 22.2 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline 
loop in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (Regional Energy Lateral);
     installation of 13.8 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline 
loop in Monroe County, Pennsylvania (Effort Loop);
     installation of the new electric-motor driven Compressor 
Station 201 (9,000 nominal horsepower [hp] at International 
Organization of Standardization [ISO] conditions) in Gloucester County, 
New Jersey);
     installation of two gas turbine driven compressor units 
(31,800 nominal hp at ISO conditions) at existing Compressor Station 
505 in Somerset County, New Jersey to accommodate the abandonment and 
replacement of approximately 16,000 hp from eight existing internal 
combustion engine-driven compressor units and increase the certificated 
station compression by 15,800 hp;
     installation of a gas turbine compressor unit (63,742 
nominal hp at ISO conditions) and modifications to three existing 
compressors at existing Compressor Station 515 in Luzerne County, 
Pennsylvania to accommodate the abandonment and replacement of 
approximately 17,000 hp from five existing gas-fired reciprocating 
engine driven compressors and increase the certificated station 
compression by 46,742 hp;
     uprate and rewheel two existing electric motor-driven 
compressor units at existing Compressor Station 195 in York County, 
Pennsylvania to increase the certificated station compression by 5,000 
hp and accommodate the abandonment of two existing gas-fired 
reciprocating engine driven compressors, which total approximately 
8,000 hp;
     installation of piping modifications at existing 
Compressor Station 200 in Chester County, Pennsylvania to support south 
flow of natural gas;
     uprate one existing electric motor-driven compressor unit 
at existing Compressor Station 207 in Middlesex County, New Jersey to 
increase the certificated station compression by 4,100 hp;
     modifications at existing compressor stations, meter 
stations, interconnects, and ancillary facilities in Pennsylvania, New 
Jersey, and Maryland; and
     installation of ancillary facilities such as mainline 
valves, communication facilities, and pig launchers \2\ and receivers.
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    \2\ 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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    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
final EIS to federal, state, and local government representatives and 
agencies; elected officials; environmental and public interest groups; 
Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners and other 
interested individuals and groups; and newspapers and libraries in the 
Project area. The final EIS is only available in electronic format. It 
may be viewed and downloaded from the FERC's website (www.ferc.gov), on 
the natural gas environmental documents page (https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents). In 
addition, the final EIS may be accessed by using

[[Page 47742]]

the eLibrary link on the FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link 
(https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search) select ``General Search'' 
and enter the docket number in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding 
the last three digits (i.e., CP21-94). 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 final EIS is not a decision document. It presents Commission 
staff's independent analysis of the environmental issues for the 
Commission to consider when addressing the merits of all issues in this 
proceeding. 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. 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 that 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 https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to 
register for eSubscription.

    Dated: July 29, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-16708 Filed 8-3-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


