Expectations of New FERC Guidance on Resource Report 9 (Noise Quality) Preparation

In December 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued its draft Guidance Manual for Environmental Report Preparation, representing an update of similar guidance published in August 2002. Section 4.9.2 of the draft new guidance, which specifically addresses noise quality and vibration assessment, includes clear changes from the preceding 2002-era document and additional expectations for information presentation and data analysis that will affect what oil and gas developers need to prepare and submit for their project applications under FERC jurisdictional review and approval. Consequently, acousticians and noise control engineers supporting such applicants on their proposed projects will need to be aware of these changes and adapt their responsiveness to help ensure Resource Report 9 (RR9) informational requirements are appropriately met. This paper summarizes the new noise-related guidance, and discusses changes from the earlier document.