[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 147 (Wednesday, July 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44244-44246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-17404]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP08-207-000]
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Hester Storage
Field Retirement Project and Request for Comments on Environmental
Issues
July 23, 2008.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will
discuss the environmental impacts of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line
Corporation's (Transco) Hester Storage Field Retirement Project
(Project) involving abandonment, construction, and temporary operation
of facilities by Transco in St. James Parish, Louisiana.
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process we will
use to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the
project. Your input will help the Commission staff determine which
issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping
period will close on August 22, 2008.
This notice is being sent to affected landowners; federal, state,
and local government representatives and agencies; environmental and
public interest groups; Native American tribes; other interested
parties in this proceeding; and local libraries and newspapers. We
encourage government representatives 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 Transco provided to landowners. This fact sheet
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including 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
The proposed project would involve temporary compression and minor
modification and installation of yard pipeline at Compressor Station 64
to support the final withdrawal of base gas from the Hester Storage
field; eventual removal and capping of 5 wells of the Hester Storage
Field; closure of Compressor Station 64, and the abandonment in place
of 4.75 miles of pipeline lateral.
Specifically, Transco proposes to:
Temporarily install one 630 horsepower engine/compressor
unit associated yard pipes at Compressor Station 64;
Remove gathering lines between Compressor Station 64 and 5
injection/withdrawal wells, 1 monitoring well, and 3 water wells;
Abandon the 12-inch pipeline lateral from Compressor
station 64 (milepost 8.66) to the interconnect with Occidental Chemical
Corporation (milepost 3.91);
Abandon and cap 5 injection/withdrawal wells, 1 monitoring
well, and 3 water wells; and
[[Page 44245]]
Remove all aboveground buildings and equipment at
Compressor Station 64, including, but not limited to the compressor
building, office/shop, air compressor building, utility shed, meter
building, condensate and wastewater tanks, gas coolers, glycol units,
gas scrubbers, 2 existing engine/compressor units, and associated
piping.
The location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\1\
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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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Nonjurisdictional Facilities
There are no non-jurisdictional facilities associated with this
project.
Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed temporary facilities would be
contained within the existing Compressor Station 64 fence line,
existing well pads and existing pipeline right-of-way. Approximately
14.06 acres of land would be disturbed during the temporary
installation of compression and the abandonment of wells and pipeline.
Following construction, the use of the pipeline lateral right-of-way
would revert to the landowner while the compressor station property
would either be donated to the community or sold.
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 \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.
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.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified issues that we think deserve attention
based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the
environmental information provided by Transco. This preliminary list of
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
The project may have air emissions and noise impacts.
Safety of the storage field after abandonment.
Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the Hester Storage Field Abandonment
Project. Your comments should focus on the potential environmental
effects, reasonable alternatives, and measures to avoid or lessen
environmental impacts. The more specific your comments, the more useful
they will be. To ensure that your comments are timely and properly
recorded, please send in your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before August 22, 2008.
For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to
submit your comments to the Commission. In all instances please
reference the project docket number CP08-207-000 with your submission.
The docket number can be found on the front of this notice. The
Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and has dedicated
eFiling expert staff available to assist you at 202-502-8258 or
[email protected].
(1) You may file your comments electronically by using the Quick
Comment feature, which is located on the Commission's internet Web site
at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. A Quick
Comment is an easy method for interested persons to submit text-only
comments on a project;
(2) You may file your comments electronically by using the eFiling
feature, which is located on the Commission's internet Web site at
http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. eFiling
involves preparing your submission in the same manner as you would if
filing on paper, and then saving the file on your computer's hard
drive. You will attach that file as your submission. New eFiling users
must first create an account by clicking on ``Sign up'' or
``eRegister.'' You will be asked to select the type of filing you are
making. A comment on a particular project is considered a ``Comment on
a Filing;'' or
(3) You may file your comments via mail to the Commission by
sending an original and two copies of your letter to: Kimberly D. Bose,
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,
PJ11.3.
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, who have
existing easements from the pipeline, 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,
[[Page 44246]]
especially those in Appendix 2, to express their interest in becoming
cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA.
If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to
remain on our mailing list, 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 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 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). Only intervenors have the right to seek
rehearing of the Commission's decision.
The Notice of Application for this proposed project issued on May
6, 2008 identified the date for the filing of interventions as May 28,
2008. However, affected landowners and parties with environmental
concerns may be granted late 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.
Availability of 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
[email protected] 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. E8-17404 Filed 7-29-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P