Notice2023-07197
Trailblazer Pipeline Company, Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Trailblazer Conversion Project
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
April 6, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 66 (Thursday, April 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20506-20507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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 (CO<INF>2</INF>) 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:
<bullet> 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;
<bullet> construction of a new 18.8-mile-long, 20-inch-diameter
lateral pipeline (REX Lateral to TPC Adams);
<bullet> construction of a new 22.2-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter
lateral pipeline (REX Lateral to TPC East);
<bullet> installation of station piping and additional regulation
at three existing TPC meter stations to enable deliveries into end
users or interstate pipeline systems;
<bullet> expansion of one existing meter station between the
Rockies Express Pipeline and the Trailblazer Pipeline;
<bullet> construction of two new REX meter stations; and
<bullet> 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 CO<INF>2</INF> 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 (<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 EA may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on the
FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link (<a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/elibrary/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/elibrary/overview</a>), 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
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#cd8ba8bfae82a3a1a4a3a89eb8bdbda2bfb98daba8bfaee3aaa2bb"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="63250611002c0d0f0a0d06301613130c111723050611004d040c15">[email protected]</span></a> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#99dffcebfad6f7f5f0f7fccaece9e9f6ebedd9fffcebfab7fef6ef"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f4b2918697bb9a989d9a91a78184849b8680b492918697da939b82">[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 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 (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>) 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 <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/ferc-online/how-guides</a>.
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 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 <a href="https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview">https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview</a> 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
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