[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20506-20507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-07197]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP22-468-000]


Trailblazer Pipeline Company, Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC; 
Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 
Trailblazer Conversion Project

    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the 
Trailblazer Conversion Project (Project), proposed by Trailblazer 
Pipeline Company, LLC (TPC) and Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC (REX), 
collectively, the Applicants, in the above-referenced docket. The 
Applicants request authorization to abandon in-place, construct, and 
operate natural gas transmission facilities in Wyoming, Colorado and 
Nebraska. According to TPC and REX, the Project is designed to provide 
continuing service to TPC's existing natural gas firm transportation 
customers using underutilized jurisdictional capacity on REX pipeline 
facilities while making TPC's pipeline facilities available in 
anticipation of future non-jurisdictional use to transport carbon 
dioxide (CO2) for final sequestration. The Project would not 
involve an increase in natural gas transportation capacity.
    The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
abandonment, construction, and operation of the Project in accordance 
with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. The 
FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed Project, with 
appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a major federal 
action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.
    The Trailblazer Conversion Project would consist of the following:
     abandonment in-place of 392 miles of 36-inch-diameter 
Trailblazer Pipeline and three TPC mainline compressor stations on the 
Trailblazer Pipeline, including activities involving excavation to 
expose, cut, and cap the pipeline facilities, at discrete sites;
     construction of a new 18.8-mile-long, 20-inch-diameter 
lateral pipeline (REX Lateral to TPC Adams);
     construction of a new 22.2-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter 
lateral pipeline (REX Lateral to TPC East);
     installation of station piping and additional regulation 
at three existing TPC meter stations to enable deliveries into end 
users or interstate pipeline systems;
     expansion of one existing meter station between the 
Rockies Express Pipeline and the Trailblazer Pipeline;
     construction of two new REX meter stations; and
     construction of five new interconnect booster stations 
(small capacity compressor stations) at existing pipeline facilities 
(footprint of booster stations ranging from 1.2 to 2.1 acres in size 
and total horsepower ranging from 50 to 3,533).
    The EA addresses the facilities and abandonment activities proposed 
by the Applicants. If the Commission grants approval for abandonment, 
future use of the pipeline for purposes other than interstate natural 
gas transportation, including any subsequent construction related to 
future use of the abandoned pipeline for CO2 sequestration, 
would not be subject to the Commission's jurisdiction.
    The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the 
EA 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 EA 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 EA may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the 
FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/elibrary/overview), select ``General Search'' and enter the 
docket number in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the last three 
digits (i.e. CP22-468). 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 number of pages in the EA exceeds the page limits set forth in 
the Council on Environmental Quality's July 16, 2020 final rule, Update 
to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the 
National Environmental Policy Act (85 FR 43304). The Director of the 
Office of Energy Projects, as our senior agency official, has 
authorized this page limit exceedance for the EA to provide information 
that is useful to the decision-making process.
    The EA 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. 
Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. Your comments should 
focus on the EA's disclosure and discussion of potential environmental 
effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen 
environmental impacts. The more specific your comments, the more useful 
they will be. To ensure that the Commission has the opportunity to 
consider your comments prior to making its decision on this Project, it 
is important that we receive your comments in Washington, DC on or 
before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 1, 2023.
    For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to file 
your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic 
filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-
3676 or [email protected]. Please carefully follow these 
instructions so that your comments are properly recorded.
    (1) You can file your comments electronically using the eComment 
feature on the Commission's website (www.ferc.gov) under the link to 
FERC Online. This is an easy method for submitting brief, text-only 
comments on a project;
    (2) You can also file your comments electronically using the 
eFiling feature 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 must select the type of filing you are making. If 
you are filing a comment on a particular project, please select 
``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You can file a paper copy of your comments by mailing them to 
the following address using the U.S. Postal Service. Be sure to 
reference the Project docket number (CP22-468-000) with your 
submission: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. 
Submissions sent through carriers other than the U.S. Postal Service 
must be sent to 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852 for 
processing.
    Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, 
but you do not need intervenor status to have

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your comments considered. Only intervenors have the right to seek 
rehearing or judicial review of the Commission's decision. At this 
point in this proceeding, the timeframe for filing timely intervention 
requests has expired. Any person seeking to become a party to the 
proceeding must file a motion to intervene out-of-time pursuant to Rule 
214(b)(3) and (d) of the Commission's Rules of Practice and Procedures 
(18 CFR 385.214(b)(3) and (d)) and show good cause why the time 
limitation should be waived. Motions to intervene are more fully 
described at https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides.
    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 which 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: March 31, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-07197 Filed 4-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


