[Federal Register: October 19, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 201)]
[Notices]
[Page 60813-60815]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr19oc05-65]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP05-411-000]
Northern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Cunningham Service Expansion
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
October 12, 2005.
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 Cunningham Service Expansion
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Northern
Natural Gas Company (Northern) in Pratt County, Kansas.\1\ These
facilities would consist of two reciprocating compressors rated at
3,550 horsepower (hp) each. This EA will be used by the Commission in
its decisionmaking process to determine whether the project is in the
public convenience and necessity.
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\1\ Northern'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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This notice announces the opening of the scoping period that will
be used to gather environmental input from the public and interested
agencies on the project. Please note that the scoping period will close
on November 11, 2005.
This notice is being sent to potentially affected landowners;
Federal, State, and
[[Page 60814]]
local government agencies; elected officials; environmental and public
interest groups; Native American tribes; other interested parties;
local libraries and newspapers. State and local government
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this planned
project and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
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 Northern 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
Northern is seeking authorization to increase the certificated
withdrawal and injection rates at the existing Cunningham Storage Field
located in Pratt and Kingman Counties, Kansas by replacing two 2,400 hp
reciprocating compressors with two new compressors rated at 3,550 hp
each. Northern would also install associated valves and piping to
connect the new units with existing station piping. Furthermore,
Northern would use the additional horsepower to increase the
certificated withdrawal rates (from 650 million cubic feet per day
(MMcf/d) to 720 MMcf/d) and injection rates (from 500 MMcf/d to 545
MMcf/d) to provide the requested amount of firm deferred delivery (FDD)
service. Northern indicates that the proposed facilities and the
increase in withdrawal and injection rates are required to meet FDD
service of 4 billion cubic feet of natural gas (Bcf) requested by
shippers. Following installation of the proposed facilities, the
certificated Cunningham Storage Field capacity would remain unchanged
at 62 Bcf.
Northern contends that the modifications will cause minor ground
disturbance outside of the compressor building to make the piping
connections to the new units. No ground disturbance will occur outside
of the existing compressor station yard. Because the work will
generally take place within the existing compressor station building,
additional land or work space will not be required for the project.
The 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 the appendices were sent
to all those receiving this notice in the mail.
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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.
In the EA we \3\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result
of the construction and operation of the proposed project.
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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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We will also evaluate possible 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
We have already identified one issue that we think deserves
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Northern. This preliminary
issue may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
The installation of additional compression may contribute
to an increase in noise levels at nearby noise sensitive areas.
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 and considered by the Commission.
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative
locations), 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 1.
Reference Docket No. CP05-411-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before November 11, 2005.
We will include all comments that we receive within a reasonable
time frame in our environmental analysis of this project. To expedite
our receipt and consideration of you comments, the Commission strongly
encourages electronic submission of any comments or interventions or
protests to this proceeding. See 18 Code of Federal Regulations (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 2). If you do not
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the mailing list.
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an official party to the proceeding, or ``intervenor''. 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). Intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the
Commission's decision. Motions to Intervene should be electronically
submitted using the Commission's
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eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov. Persons without Internet access
should send an original and 14 copies of their motion to the Secretary
of the Commission at the address indicated previously. Persons filing
Motions to Intervene on or before the comment deadline indicated above
must send a copy of the motion to the Applicant. All filings, including
late interventions, submitted after the comment deadline must be served
on the Applicant and all other intervenors identified on the
Commission's service list for this proceeding. Persons on the service
list with e-mail addresses may be served electronically; others must be
served a hard copy of the filing.
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.
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. The eLibrary link 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.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-5775 Filed 10-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P