The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Delta Lateral Project proposed by Kern River Gas Transmission Company (Kern River).
Kern River proposes to construct, own, and operate approximately 35 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline and related appurtenances to deliver natural gas to the Intermountain Power Project in Millard County, Utah. The Delta Lateral Project’s purpose as stated by Kern River is to provide firm transportation service for 140,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day from Opal, Wyoming, to the Intermountain Power Project in Delta, Utah.
The Delta Lateral Project consists of the following project facilities in Millard County, Utah:
- a 35.84-mile-long, 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;
- two mainline taps with automated lateral inlet valve assemblies;
- an in-line inspection device launcher and receiver;
- an automated lateral block valve assembly;
- a delivery meter station; and
- ancillary facilities.
The EIS was prepared in compliance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Council on Environmental Quality regulations for implementing NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR], 1502.13), and the FERC regulations implementing NEPA (18 CFR 380).
The conclusions and recommendations presented in the EIS are those of the FERC environmental staff. Input from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as a cooperating agency was considered during the development of our conclusions and recommendations. FERC staff concludes, with the exception of climate change impacts, that approval of Kern River’s project, with the mitigation measures recommended in the EIS, would not result in significant environmental impacts. FERC staff continues to be unable to determine significance with regards to climate change impacts. Most adverse environmental impacts would be temporary or short-term during construction and have minimal effects to existing land use, as the proposed facilities would be added within an area already characterized by rangeland or energy production and transmission facilities. Further, if the project is constructed and operated in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, the mitigation measures discussed in the EIS, and staff’s recommendations, these impacts would be reduced to acceptable levels. This determination is based on a review of the information provided by Kern River and further developed from data requests; public and agency scoping; literature research; alternatives analyses; and contacts with federal, state, and local agencies, Native American tribes, and other stakeholders.
The FERC Commissioners will take into consideration staff’s recommendations in the EIS when they make a decision on the project.
Comments on the draft EIS must be received in Washington, DC, on or before December 27, 2021.