The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Regional Energy Access Expansion (Project), proposed by Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (Transco) in the above-referenced docket. Transco requests authorization to construct and operate approximately 36.0 miles of pipeline loop ^[1] and one new compressor station, abandon and replace certain existing compression facilities, and modify existing compressor stations and facilities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey to provide about 829 million standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to multiple delivery points along Transco's existing system in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland, providing customers with enhanced access to Marcellus and Utica Shale natural gas supplies.

The final EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the Project in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed Project, with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would result in some adverse environmental impacts; however, with the exception of climate change impacts, those impacts would not be significant. Construction and operation of the Project would increase the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG), in combination with past, current, and future emissions from all other sources globally and would contribute incrementally to future climate change impacts. The EIS does not characterize the Project's GHG emissions as significant or insignificant because the Commission is conducting a generic proceeding to determine whether and how the Commission will conduct climate change significance determinations going forward.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 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. The EIS is intended to fulfill the cooperating federal agencies' NEPA obligations, as applicable, and to support subsequent conclusions and decisions made by the cooperating agencies. Although cooperating agencies provide input to the conclusions and recommendations presented in the final EIS, the agencies may present their own conclusions and recommendations in any applicable Records of Decision for the Project.

The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of the following Project facilities:

• installation of 22.2 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline loop in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania (Regional Energy Lateral);
• installation of 13.8 miles of 42-inch-diameter pipeline loop in Monroe County, Pennsylvania (Effort Loop);
• installation of the new electric-motor driven Compressor Station 201 (9,000 nominal horsepower [hp] at International Organization of Standardization [ISO] conditions) in Gloucester County, New Jersey);
• installation of two gas turbine driven compressor units (31,800 nominal hp at ISO conditions) at existing Compressor Station 505 in Somerset County, New Jersey to accommodate the abandonment and replacement of approximately 16,000 hp from eight existing internal combustion engine-driven compressor units and increase the certificated station compression by 15,800 hp;
• installation of a gas turbine compressor unit (63,742 nominal hp at ISO conditions) and modifications to three existing compressors at existing Compressor Station 515 in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania to accommodate the abandonment and replacement of approximately 17,000 hp from five existing gas-fired reciprocating engine driven compressors and increase the certificated station compression by 46,742 hp;
• uprate and rewheel two existing electric motor-driven compressor units at existing Compressor Station 195 in York County, Pennsylvania to increase the certificated station compression by 5,000 hp and accommodate the abandonment of two existing gas-fired reciprocating engine driven compressors, which total approximately 8,000 hp;
• installation of piping modifications at existing Compressor Station 200 in Chester County, Pennsylvania to support south flow of natural gas;
• uprate one existing electric motor-driven compressor unit at existing Compressor Station 207 in Middlesex County, New Jersey to increase the certificated station compression by 4,100 hp;
• modifications at existing compressor stations, meter stations, interconnects, and ancillary facilities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Maryland; and
• installation of ancillary facilities such as mainline valves, communication facilities, and pig launchers ^[2] and receivers.

The Commission mailed a copy of the Notice of Availability of the final EIS 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 final EIS is only available in electronic format. It may be viewed and downloaded from the 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 final EIS may be accessed by using ( printed page 47742) the eLibrary link on the 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, excluding the last three digits ( i.e., CP21-94). 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 final EIS 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. 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.

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.