[Federal Register: July 31, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 146)]
[Notices]
[Page 41730-41731]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31jy07-66]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP07-390-000]
Enstor Houston Hub Storage and Transportation, L.P.; Notice of
Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Houston
Hub Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
July 20, 2007.
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 Houston Hub Project involving
construction and operation of a new salt dome cavern gas storage
project and pipelines by Enstor Houston Hub Storage and Transportation,
L.P. (Enstor) at the North Dayton Salt Dome in Liberty County,
Texas.\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\ Enstor's application was filed with the Commission under
Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act.
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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 Enstor 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
Enstor is proposing to construct four solution-mined caverns with
an initial total storage capacity of 16 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of
working gas, supported by 8.7 Bcf of pad gas. Upon completion of
solution mining, the caverns would be taken out of service one at a
time for additional solution mining to increase the capacity of each of
the four storage caverns by 7.5 Bcf for a total volume of 30 Bcf of
working gas and 16.3 Bcf of pad gas. The project would be capable of
injecting about 600 MMcf per day and provide a nominal withdrawal of 1
Bcf per day. Enstor seeks authority to construct and operate in Liberty
County, Texas:
Four solution-mined gas storage salt caverns;
Five brine disposal wells and associated 20-inch-diameter
brine disposal pipeline;
Five raw water wells and associated 20-inch-diameter raw
water pipeline;
31,600 horse-power compressor station;
Two interconnects and meter stations;
2.3 miles of dual 24-inch-diameter pipeline;
Ancillary facilities including dehydration equipment,
pressure reducing station, withdrawal separator with slug catcher; and
138-kilo-volt (kv):34-kv power drop substation, 24-kv
power drop and associated electric power lines.
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 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, N.E., 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 238.4
acres of land. Following construction, about 180.2 acres would be
maintained as new aboveground facility sites and permanent rights-of-
way.
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 under these
general headings:
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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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geology and soils.
land use.
water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
cultural resources.
vegetation and wildlife.
endangered and threatened species.
air quality and noise.
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
[[Page 41731]]
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 below.
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, 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:
Kimberly D. Bose, Acting 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. CP07-390-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before August 22, 2007.
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 3). 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 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.
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 2, 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. 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.
Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx
along with other related information.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-14767 Filed 7-30-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P