Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC; Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Amoco South Pecan Lake Abandonment Project

The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the Amoco South Pecan Lake Abandonment Project (Project) in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, proposed by Columbia Gulf Transmission, LLC (Columbia Gulf) in the above-referenced docket.

On January 16, 2024, Columbia Gulf filed an application in Docket No. CP24-37-000, requesting Authorization pursuant to section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the Commission's regulations, to abandon approximately 21 miles of obsolete pipeline and related appurtenances. Columbia Gulf states that the Project would eliminate the need for future operating and maintenance expenditures on outdated facilities that are no longer needed to satisfy current firm service obligations. The abandonment of these facilities would not change the certificated capacity of Columbia Gulf's system, and would not result in the termination or reduction of service to existing customers of Columbia Gulf.

Specifically, Columbia Gulf is requesting approval to abandon in place and by removal approximately 16 miles of its 16-inch-diameter South Pecan Lake Pipeline; abandon by removal approximately 1 mile of its 12-inch-diameter Amoco/South Pecan Lake Pipeline; abandon by removal approximately 4 miles of its 6-inch-diameter Go Around Bayou Pipeline; abandon by removal all of the facilities at the South Pecan Lake metering and regulating station (M&R) No. 505 and Goodrich M&R No. 4144; and abandon by removal other related appurtenances.

The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the abandonment activities associated with the Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act. FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed Project would not constitute a major federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment. The EA also concludes that no system, route, or other alternative would meet the Project objective while providing a significant environmental advantage over the Project as proposed.

The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for the Amoco South Pecan Lake Abandonment Project 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 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 FERC's website. Click on the eLibrary link ( https://elibrary.ferc.gov/eLibrary/search ) select “General Search” and enter the docket number in the “Docket Number” field ( i.e. CP24-37-000). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at (866) 208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202) 502-8659.

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, measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts, the completeness of the submitted alternatives, and information and analyses. 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 p.m. Eastern Time on July 22, 2024.

For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit your comments to the Commission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has staff available to assist you at (866) 208-3676 or FercOnlineSupport@ferc.gov. 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 file your comments electronically by 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.” 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 (CP24-37-000) on your letter. Submissions sent via the U.S. Postal Service must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First Street NE, Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426. Submissions sent via any other carrier must be addressed to: Debbie-Anne A. Reese, Acting Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 12225 Wilkins Avenue, Rockville, Maryland 20852.

Filing environmental comments will not give you intervenor status, but you do not need intervenor status to have 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/how-intervene.

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.

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 OPP@ferc.gov.

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 https://www.ferc.gov/ferc-online/overview to register for eSubscription.