[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57694-57695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-20408]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP21-465-000, CP21-465-001, CP21-465-002]


Driftwood Pipeline LLC; Notice of Availability of the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Line 200 and Line 300 
Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS) 
for the Line 200 and Line 300 Project (Project), proposed by Driftwood 
Pipeline LLC (Driftwood) in the above-referenced docket. Driftwood 
proposes to construct and operate dual 42-inch-diameter natural gas 
pipelines originating near Ragley in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana 
southward to a proposed receiver facility near Carlyss in Calcasieu 
Parish, Louisiana. Additional facilities include one new compressor 
station, eleven meter stations, six mainline valves, and other 
aboveground facilities. The Project would provide a maximum seasonal 
capacity of 5.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to the Lake 
Charles market. According to Driftwood, its Project would provide 
enhanced supply access, resilience, and reliability to the natural gas 
market in the Lake Charles area.
    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, but none that are considered 
significant. Regarding climate change impacts, the Project's 
construction and operation emissions would increase the atmospheric 
concentration of greenhouse gasses (GHG), in combination with past, 
present, and future emissions from all other sources. This EIS is not 
characterizing 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 significance 
determinations going forward.\1\ The EIS also concludes that no system, 
route, or other alternative would meet the Project objective while 
providing a significant environmental advantage over the Project as 
proposed.
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    \1\ Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Natural Gas 
Infrastructure Project Reviews, 178 FERC ] 61,108 (2022); 178 FERC 
61,197 (2022).
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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency participated as a 
cooperating agency 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 final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following project facilities:
     approximately 36.9 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Beauregard and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana (Line 200);
     approximately 32.4 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline in 
Beauregard and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana (Line 300) that would be 
constructed adjacent to Line 200 in a second phase of construction;
     approximately 0.9 mile of 30-inch-diameter lateral (Sempra 
Lateral) extending from Meter Station 14 to the Indian Bayou Compressor 
Station;
     approximately 0.8 mile of 30-inch-diameter lateral 
(Transco Lateral) extending from Meter Station 5 to the Indian Bayou 
Compressor Station;
     approximately 850 feet of dual 42-inch-diameter pipelines 
connecting the receiver facility to Meter Station 12;
     new compressor station identified as the Indian Bayou 
Compressor Station with a total 211,200 horsepower (hp) in Beauregard 
Parish, Louisiana;
     new receiver facility at the terminus of the Line 200 and 
Line 300 in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana;
     11 new meter stations and interconnects in Beauregard and 
Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana;
     6 mainline valves (MLV) within 3 valve facilities; and
     additional ancillary facilities such as 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 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

[[Page 57695]]

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 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. CP21-465). 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: September 15, 2022.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-20408 Filed 9-20-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


