FERC-546 60-day notice (published)

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 213 / Friday, November 2, 2018 / Notices
Issued in Lexington, KY, this 11th day of
October 2018.
Robert E. Edwards, III,
Manager, Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office.
[FR Doc. 2018–24029 Filed 11–1–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. IC19–3–000]

Commission Information Collection
Activities (FERC–546); Comment
Request; Extension
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission.
ACTION: Notice of information collection
and request for comments.
AGENCY:

In compliance with the
requirements of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission
(Commission or FERC) is soliciting
public comment on the currently
approved information collection, FERC–
546 (Certificated Rate Filings: Gas
Pipeline Rates).
DATES: Comments on the collection of
information are due January 2, 2019.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
(identified by Docket No. IC19–3–000)
by either of the following methods:
• eFiling at Commission’s website:
http://www.ferc.gov/docs-filing/
efiling.asp.
• Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission,
SUMMARY:

Secretary of the Commission, 888 First
Street NE, Washington, DC 20426.
Instructions: All submissions must be
formatted and filed in accordance with
submission guidelines at: http://
www.ferc.gov/help/submissionguide.asp. For user assistance contact
FERC Online Support by email at
[email protected], or by phone
at: (866) 208–3676 (toll-free), or (202)
502–8659 for TTY.
Docket: Users interested in receiving
automatic notification of activity in this
docket or in viewing/downloading
comments and issuances in this docket
may do so at http://www.ferc.gov/docsfiling/docs-filing.asp.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Ellen Brown may be reached by email
at [email protected], telephone
at (202) 502–8663, and fax at (202) 273–
0873.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title: FERC–546, Certificated Rate
Filings: Gas Pipeline Rates.
OMB Control No.: 1902–0155.
Type of Request: Three-year extension
of the FERC–546 information collection
requirements with no changes to the
current reporting requirements.
Abstract: The requirements of the
FERC–546 information collection are
contained within the Commission’s
regulations in 18 CFR parts 154.7,
154.202, 154.204–154.208, 154.602–
154.603, 284.501–284.505, and 154.4.
The Commission reviews the FERC–546
materials to decide whether to approve
rates and tariff changes associated with
an application for a certificate under
Natural Gas Act (NGA) section 7(c).
Additionally, FERC reviews FERC–546

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materials in NGA section 4(f), storage
applications, to evaluate an applicant’s
market power and determine whether to
grant market-based rate authority to the
applicant. The Commission uses the
information in FERC–546 to monitor
jurisdictional transportation, natural gas
storage, and unbundled sales activities
of interstate natural gas pipelines and
Hinshaw 1 pipelines. In addition to
fulfilling the Commission’s obligations
under the NGA, the FERC–546 enables
the Commission to monitor the
activities and evaluate transactions of
the natural gas industry, ensure
competitiveness, and improve efficiency
of the industry’s operations. In
summary, the Commission uses the
information to:
• Ensure adequate customer
protections under NGA section 4(f);
• Review rate and tariff changes filed
under NGA section 7(c) for certification
of natural gas pipeline transportation
and storage services;
• Provide general industry oversight;
and
• Supplement documentation during
the pipeline audits process.
Failure to collect this information
would prevent the Commission from
monitoring and evaluating transactions
and operations of jurisdictional
pipelines and performing its regulatory
functions.
Type of Respondents: Jurisdictional
pipeline companies and storage
operators.
Estimate of Annual Burden: 2 The
Commission estimates the annual
reporting burden and cost for the
information collection as:

FERC–546 (CERTIFICATED RATE FILINGS: GAS PIPELINE RATES)
Annual
number of
respondents

Annual
number of
responses
per
respondent

Total number
of responses
(rounded)

Average burden and
cost per response 3
(rounded)

Total annual burden hours
and total annual cost
(rounded)

Cost per
respondent
($)
(rounded)

(1)

(2)

(1) * (2) = (3)

(4)

(3) * (4) = (5)

(5) ÷ (1)

500 hrs.; $40,000 ......

37,500 hrs.; $3,000,000 .....

Pipeline Certificate Filings
and Storage Applications.

4 1.471

51

1 Hinshaw pipelines are those that receive all outof-state gas from entities within or at the boundary
of a state if all the natural gas so received is
ultimately consumed within the state in which it is
received, 15 U.S.C. 717(c). Congress concluded that
Hinshaw pipelines are ‘‘matters primarily of local
concern,’’ and so are more appropriately regulated
by pertinent state agencies rather than by FERC.
The Natural Gas Act section 1(c) exempts Hinshaw
pipelines from FERC jurisdiction. A Hinshaw
pipeline, however, may apply for a FERC certificate
to transport gas outside of state lines.
2 ‘‘Burden’’ is defined as the total time, effort, or
financial resources expended by persons to
generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or provide
information to or for a Federal agency. For further

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75

explanation of what is included in the information
collection burden, reference 5 Code of Federal
Regulations 1320.3.
3 The hourly cost (for salary plus benefits) uses
the figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, May
2017, for positions involved in the reporting and
recordkeeping requirements. These figures include
salary (https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/naics2_
22.htm) and benefits (http://www.bls.gov/
news.release/ecec.nr0.htm) and are:
Electrical Engineer (Occupation Code: 17–2071;
$66.90/hour)
Management Analyst (Occupation Code: 13–1111;
$63.32/hour)
Accounting (Occupation Code: 13–2011; $56.59/
hours)

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5 $58,824

Computer and Mathematical (Occupation Code:
15–0000; $63.25/hour)
Legal (Occupation Code: 23–0000; $143.68/hour)
The average hourly cost (salary plus benefits) is
calculated weighting each of the previously
mentioned wage categories as follows: $66.90/hour
(0.4) + $63.32/hour (0.2) + $56.59/hour (0.1) +
$63.25/hour (0.1) + $143.68/hour (0.2) = $80.14/
hour. The Commission rounds this figure to $80/
hour.
4 This figure was calculated by dividing the total
number of responses (75) by the total number of
respondents (51). The resulting figure was then
rounded to the nearest thousandth place.
5 Rounded from $58,823.53.

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55156

Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 213 / Friday, November 2, 2018 / Notices

The Commission is revising the
burden hours per response for rate and
tariff changes associated with certificate
applications, from the current estimated
averages of 40 hours per pipeline
certificate project and 350 hours per
storage application, to an overall
average of 500 hours per project for all
FERC–546 filings. The increase in the
average hours per project is due to the
complexity and length of time required
in the planning and monitoring
jurisdictional transportation of pipeline
certificate and storage projects and that
these additional hours need to be
properly accounted for in FERC–546
filings.
Comments: Comments are invited on:
(1) Whether the collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
Commission, including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(2) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate
of the burden and cost of the collection
of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(3) ways to enhance the quality, utility
and clarity of the information collection;
and (4) ways to minimize the burden of
the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including the use
of automated collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Dated: October 29, 2018.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–23994 Filed 11–1–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission
[Docket No. CP16–116–000]

Texas LNG Brownsville, LLC; Notice of
Availability of the Draft Environmental
Impact Statement for the Proposed
Texas LNG Project
The staff of the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS)
for the Texas LNG Project, proposed by
Texas LNG Brownsville, LLC (Texas
LNG) in the above-referenced docket.
Texas LNG requests authorization to
site, construct, modify, and operate
liquefied natural gas (LNG) export
facilities on the Brownsville Ship
Channel in Cameron County, Texas. The
Texas LNG Project would include a new
LNG export terminal capable of
producing up to 4 million tonnes per
annum of LNG for export. The terminal

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would receive natural gas to the export
facilities from a third-party intrastate
pipeline.
The draft EIS assesses the potential
environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the Texas
LNG Project in accordance with the
requirements of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The
FERC staff concludes that approval of
the Texas LNG Project would result in
adverse environmental impacts.
However, with the mitigation measures
recommended in the EIS, impacts in the
project area would be avoided or
minimized and would not be
significant, with the exception of visual
resources when viewed from the Laguna
Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge. In
addition, the Texas LNG Project,
combined with other projects in the
geographic scope, including the Rio
Grande LNG and Annova LNG Projects,
would result in significant cumulative
impacts from sediment/turbidity and
shoreline erosions within the
Brownsville Ship Channel during
operations from vessel transits; on the
federally listed ocelot and jaguarundi
from habitat loss and potential for
increased vehicular strikes during
construction; and on visual resources
from the presence of aboveground
structures. Construction and operation
of the Texas LNG Project would result
in mostly temporary or short-term
environmental impacts; however, some
long-term and permanent environmental
impacts would occur.
The U.S. Department of Energy, U.S.
Coast Guard, U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, U.S. Department of
Transportation’s Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration and Federal Aviation
Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency, National Park Service, and
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration’s National Marine
Fisheries Service 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 the
cooperating agencies provided input to
the conclusions and recommendations
presented in the draft EIS, the agencies
will present their own conclusions and
recommendations in their respective
Records of Decision for the project.
The draft EIS addresses the potential
environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the
following project facilities:

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• Gas gate station and interconnect
facility;
• pretreatment facility for carbon
dioxide removal and dehydration;
• turbo-expander for pentane plus
heavy carbon removal;
• a Liquefaction Plant consisting of two
liquefaction trains and ancillary
support facilities;
• two approximately 210,000 m3
aboveground full containment LNG
storage tanks with cryogenic pipeline
connections to the Liquefaction Plant
and berthing dock;
• an LNG carrier berthing dock capable
of receiving LNG carriers between
approximately 130,000 m3 and
180,000 m3 in capacity;
• a permanent material offloading
facility to allow waterborne deliveries
of equipment and materials during
construction and mooring of tug boats
while an LNG carrier is at the berth;
• thermal oxidizer, warm wet flare, cold
dry flare, spare flare, acid gas flare,
and marine flare; and
• administration, control, maintenance,
and warehouse buildings and related
parking lots; electrical transmission
line and substation, water pipeline,
septic system, natural gas pipeline,
and stormwater facilities/outfalls.
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
project area. The draft EIS is only
available in electronic format. It may be
viewed and downloaded from the
FERC’s website (www.ferc.gov), on the
Environmental Documents page (https://
www.ferc.gov/industries/gas/enviro/
eis.asp). In addition, the draft EIS may
be accessed by using the eLibrary link
on the FERC’s website. Click on the
eLibrary link (https://www.ferc.gov/
docs-filing/elibrary.asp), click on
General Search, and enter the docket
number in the Docket Number field,
excluding the last three digits (i.e.,
CP16–116). Be sure you have selected
an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online
Support at [email protected]
or toll free at (866) 208–3676, or for
TTY, contact (202) 502–8659.
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, reasonable
alternatives, and measures to avoid or
lessen environmental impacts. To

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