[Federal Register: March 18, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 53)]
[Notices]
[Page 12848-12850]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18mr04-47]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP04-57-000]
Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc.; Notice of Intent to
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Abandonment of the
Carter-Waters Pipeline and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
March 12, 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 a project involving the
abandonment of 3.15 miles of the Carter-Waters 4-inch-diameter pipeline
XS-6 and appurtenances and one domestic customer tap by Southern Star
Central Gas Pipeline, Inc. (Southern Star) in Platte County,
Missouri.\1\ This EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-
making process to determine whether the project is in the public
convenience and necessity.
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\1\ Southern Star's application was filed with the Commission
under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the
Commission's regulations.
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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 Southern Star 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
Southern Star seeks authority to abandon in place and reclaim
approximately 3.15 miles of the Carter-Waters 4-inch-diameter pipeline
XS-6 and appurtenances and one domestic customer tap in Platte County,
Missouri. About 1.53 miles would be removed and sold for scrap. The
remaining 1.62 miles would be abandoned in place. The section of
pipeline proposed to be abandoned lies parallel to Southern Star's
existing Dearborn 6-inch pipeline XS-7 and is in Platte County,
Missouri.
Abandonment in place is proposed for areas where Southern Star
believes land restoration to original condition would be difficult,
e.g., pasture, terraces, creeks, and heavily wooded areas. These
sections would be cut and capped causing minimal ground disturbance and
minor interruption of land use. The remaining sections of the pipeline
would be reclaimed and the land would be backfilled and restored to its
prior condition. To facilitate pipe removal, Southern Star would
utilize the existing right-of-way, which is 66 feet wide. Approximately
12.24 acres of right-of-way would be temporarily affected.
The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix
1.\2\
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\2\ 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
and Files Maintenance Branch, 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 Abandonment
To facilitate pipe removal, Southern Star plans to utilize the
existing right-of-way, which is 66 feet wide. After abandonment, either
in place or by removal, Southern Star would relinquish the right-of-way
to the landowner. Pipeline abandoned in place would also become the
property of the landowner.
Temporary access to the right-of-way would be via field roads and
existing rock paved roads along the first segment of the pipeline to be
removed. Two options for access are proposed. Option 1 would affect
0.67 acre and Option 2 would affect 0.79 acre. A total of approximately
12.24 acres of right-of-way would be temporarily affected by the
project.
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
\3\ 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
[[Page 12849]]
of the issues it will 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.
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\3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the
construction activities associated with the removal of the pipeline
under these general headings:
Geology and soils;
Land use;
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
Cultural resources;
Vegetation and wildlife;
Air quality and noise.
We will also evaluate possible abandonment 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.
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.
To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the
instructions in the public participation section.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
One of the issues identified that we think deserves attention based
on a preliminary review of the abandonment of facilities and the
environmental information provided by Southern Star is the concern
expressed by a landowner about abandoning line segments in place at
stream crossings. In order to avoid disturbance of stream banks and the
associated riparian zone and to eliminate the need for stream bank
restoration, Southern Star plans to abandon the pipeline in place where
it crosses stream channels.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commenter, your
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission.
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the
proposal, alternatives to the proposal, 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 2.
Reference Docket No. CP04-57-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received
in Washington, DC on or before April 12, 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.
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 provide 14 copies of its filings 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).\4\ Only intervenors have
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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\4\ 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 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 with eLibrary, the eLibrary helpline can be reached at 1-
866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at FERConlinesupport@ferc.gov. The
eLibrary link on the FERC Internet Web site also provides access to the
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders,
notices, and rulemakings.
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/
[[Page 12850]]
EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.
Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-612 Filed 3-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P