Notice2022-24442
WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Wahpeton Expansion Project
Primary source
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Published
November 9, 2022
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 216 (Wednesday, November 9, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 216 (Wednesday, November 9, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67681-67682]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24442]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP22-466-000]
WBI Energy Transmission, Inc.; Notice of Availability of the
Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Wahpeton
Expansion Project
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the Wahpeton Expansion Project, proposed by WBI Energy
Transmission, Inc. (WBI Energy) in the above-referenced docket. WBI
Energy requests authorization to construct and operate the Wahpeton
Expansion Project, which would provide an incremental 20,600 equivalent
dekatherms per day of firm natural gas transportation capacity from WBI
Energy's existing Mapleton Compressor Station to the proposed Montana
Dakota Utilities (MDU)-Kindred and MDU-Wahpeton Border Stations to
provide natural gas services to the communities of Kindred and
Wahpeton, North Dakota.
The draft EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the Wahpeton Expansion Project in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA). Commission staff concludes that approval of the proposed
project, with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would
result in some adverse environmental impacts. Most of these impacts
would be temporary and occur during construction (e.g., impacts on
wetlands, land use, traffic, and noise). With the exception of climate
change impacts that are not characterized in the EIS as significant or
insignificant, Commission staff conclude that project effects would not
be significant. As part of the analysis, Commission staff developed
specific mitigation measures (included in the draft EIS as
recommendations). Staff recommend that these mitigation measures be
attached as conditions to any authorization issued by the Commission.
The Wild Rice River Route Alternative--Milepost (MP) 55 would
affect landowners that have not been part of the FERC's environmental
scoping process, as further discussed on page 4. Therefore, by this
letter we are notifying these parties of our evaluation and requesting
comments about this route alternative presented in section 3.3.1 of the
draft EIS.
The draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the following project facilities, in Cass
and Richland Counties, North Dakota:
<bullet> a new 60.5-mile-long, 12-inch-diameter natural gas
pipeline;
<bullet> minor modifications to WBI Energy's existing Mapleton
Compressor Station;
<bullet> a new MDU-Wahpeton Border Station;
<bullet> a new MDU-Kindred Border Station;
<bullet> seven new block valve settings;
<bullet> four new pig launcher/receiver settings; and
<bullet> ancillary facilities.
The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the
draft 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 draft EIS is only available in electronic format. It
may be viewed and downloaded from FERC's website (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>), on the
natural gas environmental documents page (<a href="https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents">https://www.ferc.gov/industries-data/natural-gas/environment/environmental-documents</a>). In
addition, the draft EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on
FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (<a href="https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search">https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search</a>), select ``General Search'' and enter the docket number
in the ``Docket Number'' field, excluding the last three digits (i.e.,
CP22-466). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c482a1b6a78baaa8adaaa197b1b4b4abb6b084a2a1b6a7eaa3abb2"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="70361502133f1e1c191e15230500001f020430161502135e171f06">[email protected]</span></a> or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY,
contact (202) 502-8659.
The draft 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. Any person wishing to comment on the draft EIS may do so.
Your comments should focus on draft EIS's disclosure and discussion of
potential environmental effects, measures to avoid or lessen
environmental impacts, and the completeness of the submitted
alternatives, information and analyses. To ensure consideration of your
comments on the proposal in the final EIS, it is important that the
Commission receive your comments on or before 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on
December 27, 2022.
For your convenience, there are four methods you can use to submit
your comments to the Commission. The Commission will provide equal
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form
or provided verbally. The Commission encourages electronic filing of
comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-3676 or
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2b6d4e594864454742454e785e5b5b44595f6b4d4e5948054c445d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="95d3f0e7f6dafbf9fcfbf0c6e0e5e5fae7e1d5f3f0e7f6bbf2fae3">[email protected]</span></a>. 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 (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>) under the link to
FERC
[[Page 67682]]
Online. This 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 on the Commission's website (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>) under the link to
FERC Online. With filing, 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.'' If you
are filing a comment on a particular project, please select ``Comment
on a Filing'' as the filing type; 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 (CP22-
466-000) 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.
4. In lieu of sending written or electronic comments, the
Commission invites you to attend one of the public comment sessions its
staff will conduct in the project area to receive comments on the draft
EIS, scheduled as follows:
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Date and time Location
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Tuesday, November 29, 2022, 5:00 p.m.- Wahpeton City Hall, 1900 4th
7:00 p.m. Street N, Wahpeton, ND 58075,
(701) 591-2110.
Wednesday, November 30, 2022, 5:00 p.m.- Kindred High School, 225 Dakota
7:00 p.m. Street, Kindred, ND 58051,
(701) 428-3177.
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The primary goal of these comment sessions is to have you identify
the specific environmental issues and concerns with the draft EIS.
Individual verbal comments will be taken on a one-on-one basis with a
court reporter. This format is designed to receive the maximum amount
of verbal comments, in a convenient way during the timeframe allotted.
Each comment session is scheduled from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Central Standard Time. You may arrive at any time after 5:00 p.m. There
will not be a formal presentation by Commission staff when the session
opens. Comments will be taken until 7:00 p.m. Please see appendix 1 for
additional information on the session format and conduct.\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
<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a> using the link called ``eLibrary'' or call (202) 502-
8371.
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Your verbal comments will be recorded by the court reporter (with
FERC staff or representative present) and become part of the public
record for this proceeding. Transcripts will be publicly available on
FERC's eLibrary system (see page 2 for instructions on using eLibrary).
If a significant number of people are interested in providing verbal
comments in the one-on-one settings, a time limit of 5 minutes may be
implemented for each commentor. Although there will not be a formal
presentation, Commission staff will be available throughout the comment
session to answer your questions about the environmental review
process.
It is important to note that the Commission provides equal
consideration to all comments received, whether filed in written form
or provided orally at a comment session.
Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must file a
motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of
Practice and Procedures (18 CFR part 385.214). Motions to intervene are
more fully described at <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene">https://www.ferc.gov/how-intervene</a>. Only
intervenors have the right to seek rehearing or judicial review of the
Commission's decision. The Commission grants affected landowners and
others with environmental concerns intervenor status upon showing good
cause by stating that they have a clear and direct interest in this
proceeding which no other party can adequately represent. Simply filing
environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, but you do
not need intervenor status to have your comments considered.
Route Alternative
As indicated on page 1, some landowners are receiving this draft
EIS because their property has been identified as potentially being
affected by the Wild Rice River Route Alternative--MP 55, which is
recommended by FERC staff to avoid or lessen environmental impacts
along WBI Energy's proposed pipeline route. Section 3.3.1 of the draft
EIS contains our analysis and discussion of this alternative. The
Commission staff wants to ensure that all potentially affected
landowners have the opportunity to participate in the environmental
review process, thus staff is soliciting comments to assist with the
environmental analysis of this route alternative, which will be
presented in the final EIS.
Questions?
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the
FERC website (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>) 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 <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview</a> to
register for eSubscription.
Dated: November 3, 2022.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-24442 Filed 11-8-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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