Notice2023-20458
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Virginia Reliability Project Commonwealth Energy Connector Project
Primary source
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Published
September 21, 2023
Issuing agencies
Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 182 (Thursday, September 21, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 182 (Thursday, September 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65161-65162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-20458]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP22-503-000; Docket No. CP22-502-000]
Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC, Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Company, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Final Environmental Impact
Statement for the Proposed Virginia Reliability Project Commonwealth
Energy Connector Project
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the Virginia Reliability Project (VRP), proposed by Columbia Gas
Transmission, LLC (Columbia), and the Commonwealth Energy Connector
Project (CEC Project) proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Company, LLC (Transco) in the above-referenced dockets.
[[Page 65162]]
Columbia requests authorization to construct and operate its VRP in
Greensville, Prince George, Sussex, Surry, Southampton, and Isle of
Wight Counties, Virginia, and in the cities of Suffolk and Chesapeake,
Virginia. The VRP is designed to provide an additional 100,000
Dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of firm transportation service for Virginia
Natural Gas, Inc. (VNG), from the existing interconnection between
Transco and Columbia in Greensville County, Virginia to VNG's existing
delivery point in Chesapeake County, Virginia.
Transco requests authorization to construct, operate, and maintain
its CEC Project in Mecklenburg, Brunswick, and Greensville Counties,
Virginia. The CEC Project is designed to provide an additional 105,000
Dth/d of firm transportation service for VNG from Transco's existing
Station 165 Zone 5 Pooling Point in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, to
the existing interconnection between Transco and Columbia in
Greensville County, Virginia, where VNG has contracted with Columbia
for further firm transportation service.
The final EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the VRP and the CEC Project (the
Projects) in accordance with the requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval
of the proposed Projects, with the mitigation measures recommended in
the EIS, would result in some adverse environmental impacts; however,
with the exception of potential impacts on climate change, FERC staff
concludes that impacts would not be significant. Climate change impacts
are not characterized in the EIS as significant or insignificant.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Norfolk District, and the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) 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. Although these agencies provided input to the conclusions and
recommendations presented in the EIS, the agencies may present their
own conclusions and recommendations in any applicable Records of
Decision or other documentation for the Projects.
The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the following VRP facilities, all in
Virginia:
<bullet> replacement of about 49.2 miles of the existing 12-inch-
diameter VM-107 and VM-108 pipelines with 24-inch-diameter pipeline
mostly within Columbia's existing right-of-way, in Sussex, Surry,
Southampton, and Isle of Wight Counties, as well as in the cities of
Suffolk and Chesapeake;
<bullet> installation of one new 5,500-horsepower (HP) dual-drive
compressor unit at the existing Emporia Compressor Station in
Greensville County;
<bullet> modification of the existing compressor units and an
increase in power by 2,700 HP at the existing Petersburg Compressor
Station in Prince George County;
<bullet> modification of the Emporia Point of Receipt in
Greensville County, Regulator Station 7423 in Prince George County, and
MS-831010 Point of Delivery in Chesapeake; and
<bullet> replacement of eight mainline valves (MLV), installation
of one new MLV and five new launchers/receivers, and replacement or
installation of other minor appurtenant facilities.
The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the following CEC Project facilities, all
in Virginia:
<bullet> construction of a 6.35-mile-long, 24-inch-diameter
pipeline loop \1\ (referred to as the Commonwealth Loop), including
valve and launcher/receiver facilities, in Brunswick and Greensville
Counties;
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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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<bullet> addition of a 33,000-HP electric motor-driven compressor
unit at the existing Compressor Station 168 in Mecklenburg County; and
<bullet> modification of the existing Emporia Metering and
Regulation Station in Greensville County.
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 area of the
Projects. The final EIS 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 final EIS may be accessed by using the eLibrary link on
the 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., CP22-503 or CP22-502). Be sure you have
selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC
Online Support at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#6c2a091e0f2302000502093f191c1c031e182c0a091e0f420b031a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="86c0e3f4e5c9e8eaefe8e3d5f3f6f6e9f4f2c6e0e3f4e5a8e1e9f0">[email protected]</span></a> or toll free at (866) 208-
3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.
Additional information about the Projects 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.
The Commission's Office of Public Participation (OPP) supports
meaningful public engagement and participation in Commission
proceedings. OPP can help members of the public, including landowners,
environmental justice communities, Tribal members and others, access
publicly available information and navigate Commission processes. For
public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, the public is
encouraged to contact OPP at (202) 502-6595 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#743b242434121106175a131b02"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="703f202030161502135e171f06">[email protected]</span></a>.
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: September 15, 2023.
Kimberly D. Bose
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-20458 Filed 9-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P
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