Notice2026-00987

Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Schedule for the Preparation of an Environmental Assessment for the Hunt Storage Field Abandonment Project

Primary source

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Published
January 20, 2026

Issuing agencies

Energy DepartmentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 12 (Tuesday, January 20, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 20, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2349-2350]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00987]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP26-23-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Schedule for the 
Preparation of an Environmental Assessment for the Hunt Storage Field 
Abandonment Project

    On November 13, 2025, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia) 
filed an application in Docket No. CP26-23-000 requesting an 
Authorization pursuant to Section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act to 
abandon certain natural gas pipeline facilities. The proposed project 
is known as the Hunt Storage Field Abandonment Project (Project), and 
would abandon injection/withdrawal wells, observation wells, special 
wells, all associated pipelines and aboveground appurtenances, and the 
Hunt Compressor Station in Kanawha County, West Virginia. The Project 
would end delivery of about 12.4 million cubic feet of natural gas per 
day and would have no effect to existing customers.
    On November 25, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
(Commission or FERC) issued its Notice of Application for the Project. 
Among other things, that notice alerted agencies issuing federal 
authorizations of the requirement to complete all necessary reviews and 
to reach a final decision on a request for a federal authorization 
within 90 days of the date of issuance of the Commission staff's 
environmental document for the Project.
    This notice identifies Commission staff's intention to prepare an 
environmental assessment (EA) for the Project and the planned schedule 
for the completion of the environmental review. \1\ The EA will be 
issued for a 30-day comment period.
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    \1\ For tracking purposes under the National Environmental 
Policy Act, the unique identification number for documents relating 
to this environmental review is EAXX-019-20-000-1767969814.
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Schedule for Environmental Review

Issuance of EA July 10, 2026
90-day Federal Authorization Decision Deadline \2\ October 8, 2026
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    \2\ The Commission's deadline applies to the decisions of other 
federal agencies, and state agencies acting under federally 
delegated authority, that are responsible for federal 
authorizations, permits, and other approvals necessary for proposed 
projects under the Natural Gas Act. Per 18 CFR 157.22(a), the 
Commission's deadline for other agency's decisions applies unless a 
schedule is otherwise established by federal law.

    If a schedule change becomes necessary, additional notice will be 
provided so that the relevant agencies are kept informed of the 
Project's progress.

Project Description

    Columbia proposes to abandon the following facilities at the Hunt 
Storage Field:
    <bullet> Plug and abandon sixteen injection/withdrawal wells;
    <bullet> Plug and abandon three observation wells;
    <bullet> Plug and abandon three special wells, which are 
observation wells that currently serve low pressure distribution 
systems;
    <bullet> Abandon approximately 7.18 miles of various storage 
pipelines in the Hunt Storage Field (0.45 mile to be abandoned by 
removal and 6.72 miles to be abandoned in place);
    <bullet> Abandon by removal the Hunt Compressor Station, including 
the associated buildings, appurtenances, and aboveground station 
piping;
    <bullet> Abandon by removal all above-ground appurtenances 
including pipeline markers, cathodic protection test stations, 
rectifiers, casing vents, and above-ground pipeline blowdown vents; and
    <bullet> Abandon in place compressor station fencing, remaining 
below-ground piping and miscellaneous appurtenances.

Background

    On December 23, 2025, the Commission issued a Notice of Scoping 
Period Requesting Comments on Environmental Issues for the Proposed 
Hunt Storage Field Abandonment Project (Notice of Scoping). The Notice 
of Scoping was sent to affected landowners; federal, state, and local 
government agencies; elected officials; environmental and public 
interest groups; Native American tribes; other interested parties; and 
local libraries and newspapers. The Commission received comments from 
three landowners in response to the Notice of Application. The primary 
issue raised by the commenters is gas deliverability. To date, the 
Commission has not received comments in response to the

[[Page 2350]]

Notice of Scoping. All substantive comments will be addressed in the 
EA.

Additional Information

    In order to receive notification of the issuance of the EA and to 
keep track of formal issuances and submittals in specific dockets, the 
Commission offers a free service called eSubscription. This service 
provides automatic notification of filings made to subscribed dockets, 
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.
    For public inquiries and assistance with making filings such as 
interventions, comments, or requests for rehearing, contact the Office 
of Public Participation at (202)502-6595 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#46091616062023342568212930"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7b342b2b3b1d1e0918551c140d">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>.
    Additional information about the Project is available from the FERC 
website (<a href="http://www.ferc.gov">www.ferc.gov</a>). Using the ``eLibrary'' link, select ``General 
Search'' from the eLibrary menu, enter the selected date range and 
``Docket Number'' excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP26-23), and 
follow the instructions. For assistance with access to eLibrary, the 
helpline can be reached at (866) 208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#b5f3f0e7f6fadbd9dcdbd0e6c0c5c5dac7c1f5d3d0c7d69bd2dac3"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="74323126373b1a181d1a11270104041b060034121106175a131b02">[email&#160;protected]</span></a>. The eLibrary link on the FERC website also 
provides access to the texts of formal documents issued by the 
Commission, such as orders, notices, and rule makings.

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)

    Dated: January 14, 2026.
Debbie-Anne A. Reese,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-00987 Filed 1-16-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P


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Indexed from Federal Register on January 20, 2026.

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