The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) has prepared a final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Mississippi Crossing Project (MSX), proposed by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (TGP) and the South System Expansion 4 Project (SSE4), proposed by Southern Natural Gas Company, LLC (SNG) and Elba Express Company, LLC (EEC).^[1] TGP requests authorization to construct and operate approximately 208 miles of natural gas pipeline and pipeline lateral facilities in Washington, Sunflower, Humphreys, Holmes, Attala, Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Lauderdale, and Clarke counties, Mississippi and Choctaw County, Alabama. MSX would also include three new compressor stations, modifications to one existing compressor station, four new meter stations, and other appurtenant facilities. SNG/EEC request authorization to construct and operate 22 natural gas pipeline loops totaling approximately 291 miles, modifications to add compression at 14 existing compressor stations on SNG's South Main Line and the Elba Express Pipeline, and three new meter stations and modifications to seven existing meter stations within Clarke and Lauderdale counties, Mississippi; Sumter, Marengo, Perry, Dallas, Autauga, Elmore, Tallapoosa, Macon, Hale, and Lee counties, Alabama; and, Clayton, Muscogee, Harris, Talbot, Upson, Crawford, Monroe, Bibb, Jones, Baldwin, Glascock, Jefferson, Richmond, Spalding, Henry, Lowndes, Burke, Screven, Cobb, Chatham, and Effingham counties, Georgia.

FERC is the lead federal agency for authorizing interstate natural gas transmission facilities under the Natural Gas Act of 1938 (NGA) and the lead federal agency for preparation of the final EIS. The final EIS assesses the potential environmental effects of the construction and operation of MSX and SSE4 (collectively referred to as “the Projects”) in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ^[2] and the Commission's implementing regulations.^[3] The principal purposes of the final EIS are to: identify and assess the potential effects on the natural and human environment; describe and evaluate reasonable alternatives; identify and recommend mitigation measures; and facilitate public involvement in the environmental review process. The EIS concludes that approval of the proposed Projects would have some limited adverse environmental effects; however, with implementation of TGP, SNG, and EEC's avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures, as well as adherence to Commission staff's mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, these effects would be less than significant.

Three districts of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks 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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will adopt and use the EIS to consider the issuance of Section 404 of the Clean Water Act. Although the cooperating agencies provided input towards the conclusions and recommendations presented in the final EIS, the agencies will present their own conclusions and recommendations in their respective records of decision (where applicable) for the Projects.

The final EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of construction and operation in Mississippi and Alabama of the following MSX facilities:

• Approximately 177 miles of new 42-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline and 22 miles of 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline in Mississippi and Alabama; ( printed page 39993)
• Five new lateral natural gas pipelines:

○ Seven-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter Columbia Gulf Transmission Lateral in Humphreys and Sunflower counties, Mississippi;

○ A 0.9-mile-long, 30-inch-diameter Texas Eastern Transmission, LP Lateral in Attala County, Mississippi;

○ A 0.7-mile-long, 30-inch-diameter Texas Gas Lateral in Attala County, Mississippi;

○ A 0.1-mile-long, 30-inch-diameter TGP 500 Lateral in Attala County, Mississippi;

○ A 0.5-mile-long, 36-inch-diameter Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company Lateral in Choctaw County, Alabama;

• Three new natural gas compressor stations:

○ Station 602—95,700 International Organization for Standardization (ISO) horsepower (hp) station in Humphreys County, Mississippi;

○ Station 606A—23,470 ISO hp station in Attala County, Mississippi;

○ Station 610—63,800 ISO hp station in Lauderdale County, Mississippi;

• Modifications at existing compressor station 54 located in Washington County, Mississippi;
• Four new meter stations;
• Three new overpressure protection facilities; and
• Appurtenant facilities such as mainline valves, cathodic protection, and pipeline inspection gauge trap facilities throughout the MSX area.

The final EIS also addresses the potential environmental effects of construction and operation in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia of the following SSE4 facilities:

• 22 new gas pipeline loops, organized into 14 segments, totaling approximately 291 miles and located mainly parallel to SNG's existing South Main Line in Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia;
• Modifications and/or horsepower expansions to increase compression at 14 existing stations located along SNG's South Main Line and EEC's Elba Express Pipeline; and
• Three new meter stations and modifications to seven existing meter stations along the South Main Line and Elba Express Pipeline.

In addition, SSE4 would include abandonment of approximately 4.4 miles of SNG's existing 16-inch-diameter K Gen Lateral in Clarke County, Mississippi.

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 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. CP25-514 or CP25-517). 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. Under section 7(c) of the NGA, the Commission determines whether interstate natural gas transportation facilities are in the public convenience and necessity and, if so, grants a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to construct and operate them. Section 7(b) of the NGA specifies that no natural gas company shall abandon any portion of its facilities subject to the Commission's jurisdiction without the Commission first finding that the abandonment will not negatively affect the present or future public convenience and necessity. The Commission bases its decisions on both economic issues, including need, and environmental effects.

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 OPP@ferc.gov. Additional information about the project is available from 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 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 https://www.ferc.gov/​ferc-online/​overview to register for eSubscription.

(Authority: 18 CFR 2.1)