[Federal Register: August 12, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 155)]
[Notices]
[Page 49890-49893]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12au04-62]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket Nos. CP04-379-000, CP04-380-000, and CP04-381-000]
Pine Prairie Energy Center, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pine Prairie Energy Center,
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Site Visit
August 6, 2004.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of the Pine Prairie Energy Center
involving construction and operation of facilities by Pine Prairie
Energy Center, LLC (Pine Prairie) in Evangeline, Acadia, and Rapides
Parishes, Louisiana. These
[[Page 49891]]
facilities would consist of approximately 21.47 miles of new 24-inch
gas pipeline, 3 underground gas storage caverns, a compressor station
with 48,000 horsepower of compression, 6 pipeline meter facilities and
7 pipeline interconnects. The EA will be used by the Commission in its
decision-making process to determine whether the project is in the
public convenience and necessity.
If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities.
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. Therefore, if
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline
company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with
State law.
A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the
project notice Pine Prairie provided to landowners. This fact sheet
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings.
It is available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov
).
Summary of the Proposed Project
Pine Prairie proposes to construct and operate the Pine Prairie
Energy Center in Evangeline, Acadia, and Rapides Parishes, Louisiana.
The proposal includes construction and operation of 3 solution-mined
underground salt storage caverns, associated aboveground facilities,
and connecting pipelines for the storage of up to 24.0 billion cubic
feet (Bcf) of natural gas. The proposed and existing pipelines would
connect the storage facility to ANR Pipeline Company, Florida Gas
Transmission Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Texas Eastern
Transmission, L.P., Texas Gas Transmission LLC (Texas Gas) and
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation. Specifically, Pine Prairie
seeks authority to construct and operate:
A 60 acre gas storage site consisting of three underground
salt dome storage caverns of 8 Bcf storage capacity each;
A gas handling facility consisting of a compressor
building with six 8,000 horsepower gas engine driven reciprocating
compressors, dehydration facilities, and attendant control buildings
and equipment;
A brine disposal and raw water withdrawal site located on
10 acres of land. The site will include 4 withdrawal wells to obtain
water to solution mine the storage caverns and 4 injection wells to
dispose of the brine;
The Mid Pipeline Corridor, consisting of 6.36 miles of
dual 24-inch natural gas pipeline originating from the Gas Handling
Facility to the Chalk Gathering System, an existing 24-inch natural gas
pipeline;
A service corridor containing 1.92 miles of dual 16-inch
water pipelines will be collocated between the Gas Handling Facility
and the brine disposal and raw water disposal site;
The North Pipeline Corridor, consisting of 17.80 miles of
the Chalk system north of the Mid Pipeline Corridor and will extent
through Evangeline Parish into Rapides Parish;
The South Pipeline Corridor, consisting of 16.49 miles of
the Chalk system south of the Mid Pipeline Corridor extending through
Evangeline Parish into Acadia Parish which would be looped with the
installation of 11.24 miles of 24-inch natural gas pipeline;
The TGT Lateral Pipeline Corridor, extending from the
South Pipeline Corridor to the Texas Gas Interconnect, consisting of
0.7 mile of dual 24 inch natural gas pipeline;
The East Lateral Pipeline Corridor, extending from the
South Pipeline Corridor to the interconnect with Florida Gas
Transmission, consisting of 3.17 miles of 24-inch natural gas pipeline;
and
A total of 6 meter stations would be constructed along
with 7 pipeline interconnections and 5 contractor yards of
approximately 10 acres each.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.\1\ If you are interested in obtaining detailed maps of a specific
portion of the project, send in your request using the form in appendix
3.
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\1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other
than appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's Web site
at the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission(s Public Reference
Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202)
502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary refer to the
last page of this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all
those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 383.1
acres of land. Following construction, about 59.5 acres would be
maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The remaining 323.6 acres
of land would be restored and allowed to revert to its former use.
The EA Process
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the
Commission to take into account the environmental impacts that could
result from an action whenever it considers the issuance of a
Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity. NEPA also requires us
to discover and address concerns the public may have about proposals.
This process is referred to as ``scoping''. The main goal of the
scoping process is to focus the analysis in the EA on the important
environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent, the Commission staff
requests public comments on the scope of the issues to address in the
EA. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the
EA. State and local government representatives are encouraged to notify
their constituents of this proposed action and encourage them to
comment on their areas of concern.
Our independent analysis of the issues will be in the EA. Depending
on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA may be
published and mailed to Federal, State and local agencies, public
interest groups, interested individuals, affected landowners,
newspapers, libraries, and the Commission's official service list for
this proceeding. A comment period will be allotted for review if the EA
is published. We will consider all comments on the EA before we make
our recommendations to the Commission.
In the EA we \2\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these
general headings:
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\2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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Geology and soils.
Land use.
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
Cultural resources.
Vegetation and wildlife.
Air quality and noise.
Endangered and threatened species.
Hazardous waste.
Public safety.
We will also evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed
project or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to
lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the
[[Page 49892]]
instructions in the public participation section below.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Pine Prairie. This
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and
our analysis.
Brine disposal and raw water withdrawal from aquifers.
Wetland impacts along the pipeline corridor.
Air and noise quality impacts from operation of the
compressor facility.
Storage cavern and well casing integrity management.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your
concerns will be addressed in the EA/EIS and considered by the
Commission. You should focus on the potential environmental effects of
the proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative
locations and routes), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental
impact. The more specific your comments, the more useful they will be.
Please carefully follow these instructions to ensure that your comments
are received in time and properly recorded:
Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Magalie
R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First
St., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas
Branch 3.
Reference Docket No. CP04-379-000, et al.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before September 7, 2004.
Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our
environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission
strongly encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions
or protests to this proceeding. See 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the
instructions on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under
the ``e-Filing'' link and the link to the User's Guide. Before you can
file comments you will need to create a free account which can be
created on-line.
We may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving
it, please return the Information Request (appendix 4). If you do not
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.
The environmental staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
will perform a site visit of the proposed facility locations. Anyone
interested in participating in the field trip may attend, but they must
provide their own transportation. The meeting location prior to the
site visit is as follows:
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Time/date Meeting location Facility locations
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9 a.m., Thursday, August 19, The Pine Cone, 1017 Gas handling
2004. Elm St., Pine facility, brine
Prairie, LA 70576. disposal and raw
water withdrawal
site, and Mid
Pipeline Corridor.
9 a.m., Friday, August 20, The Pine Cone, 1017 East Lateral, TGT
2004. Elm St., Pine Lateral, Meter and
Prairie, LA 70576. Regulator Sites.
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Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process.
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors.
Likewise, each intervenor must send one electronic copy (using the
Commission's eFiling system) or 14 paper copies of any filing to the
Secretary of the Commission, and must send a copy of its filings to all
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. If
you want to become an intervenor you must file a motion to intervene
according to Rule 214 of the Commission(s Rules of Practice and
Procedure (18 CFR 385.214) (see appendix 2).\3\ Only intervenors have
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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\3\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing
comments electronically.
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Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor
status to have your environmental comments considered.
Environmental Mailing List
An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals,
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially
affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners who are
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily
for project purposes, or who own homes within distances defined in the
Commission's regulations of certain aboveground facilities. By this
notice we are also asking governmental agencies, especially those in
appendix 3, to express their interest in becoming cooperating agencies
for the preparation of the EA.
Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the
FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link.
Click on the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and enter the
docket number excluding the last three digits in the Docket Number
field. Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range. For
assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
FERCOnlineSupport@ferc.gov or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY,
contact (202) 502-8659.
In addition, the Commission now 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 http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/
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EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1785 Filed 8-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P