[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 6, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38805-38807]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16279]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP10-194-000]
Central New York Oil and Gas Company, LLC; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North-South
Project, Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of
Public Scoping Meeting and Onsite Environmental Reviews
June 24, 2010.
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 North-South Project, involving
construction and operation of facilities by Central New York Oil and
Gas Company, LLC (CNYOG) in Bradford County, Pennsylvania and Tioga
County, New York. 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.
This notice announces the opening of the scoping process the
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested
agencies on the project. Your input will help the Commission staff
determine what issues need to be
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evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping period will close on
July 26, 2010.
Comments may be submitted in written form or verbally. Further
details on how to submit written comments are provided in the Public
Participation section of this notice. In lieu of or in addition to
sending written comments, the Commission invites you to attend the
public scoping meeting scheduled as follows:
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FERC Public Scoping Meeting
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North-South Project
July 15, 2010, at 7 p.m.
Treadway Inn and Conference Center 1100 State Route 17C
Owego, New York 13827
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The Commission staff will also conduct two environmental site
reviews of the proposed compressor station locations in Bradford
County, Pennsylvania and Tioga County, New York. All interested parties
planning to attend must provide their own transportation. Those
attending should meet at the following locations:
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FERC Environmental Site Reviews North-South Project
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Compressor Station NS2--Bradford County, Pennsylvania
July 14, 2010, at 2 p.m.
Tennessee Gas Pipeline's Station 319 (driveway)
Turkey Path Road (State Route 1004)
Wyalusing, Pennsylvania 18853
Compressor Station NS1--Tioga County, New York
July 15, 2010, at 8 a.m.
Treadway Inn and Conference Center (Lobby)
1100 State Route 17C
Owego, New York 13827
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This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental
mailing list for the proposed project. State and local government
representatives are asked to notify their constituents of this project
and encourage them to comment on their areas of concern.
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 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 where compensation would be
determined 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 CNYOG 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
also available for viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov).
Summary of the Proposed Project
CNYOG proposes to construct and operate one new compressor station
in both Tioga County, New York (NS1) and Bradford County, Pennsylvania
(NS2). The North-South Project is associated with CNYOG's existing
Stagecoach Storage Project and would increase the firm throughput
capacity of CNYOG's North Lateral to 560 million cubic feet per day
(MMcf/d) and South Lateral to 728 MMcf/d. According to CNYOG, its
project would provide service between receipt and delivery points at
the existing interconnects as well as from intermediate receipt points
along both laterals.
The North-South Project would consist of the following facilities:
One electric-driven 13,400-horsepower (hp) centrifugal
compressor at the NS1 compressor station;
One electric-driven 15,300-hp Solar C45 centrifugal
compressor at the NS2 compressor station;
Expansion of metering facilities at the interconnects
between CNYOG's North and South Laterals and Millennium Pipeline
Company's pipeline and Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company's (TGP) Line 300
pipeline, respectively,
Two 30-inch natural gas pipelines about 900 feet long from
NS2 to the interconnect with TGP.
An electric substation at the NS1 compressor station; and
An 1,800-foot-long nonjurisdictional powerline at the NS2
compressor station.
The general 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 appendices were sent to
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at
http://www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' 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.
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Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of the proposed facilities would temporarily disturb
about 54.3 acres of land for the proposed compressor stations and
powerline. Following construction, 5 acres would be maintained for
permanent operation of the NS1 compressor station in Tioga County, and
5 acres would be maintained for permanent operation of the NS2
compressor station in Bradford County. About 2 acres would be
maintained for access roads, about 1 acre would be utilized for
pipeline right-of-way, and about 7 acres would be utilized for the
powerline right-of-way. The remaining land would be restored and
allowed to revert to former uses.
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
\2\ 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, the Commission requests public
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
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\2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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In the EA, we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of
the construction and operation of the proposed project under these
general headings:
Geology and soils;
Land use;
Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
Cultural resources;
Vegetation and wildlife;
Air quality and noise;
Endangered and threatened species; and
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 presented in the EA.
The EA will be placed in the public record and, depending on the
comments received during the scoping process, may be published and
distributed to the
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public. A comment period will be allotted if the EA is published for
review. 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.
With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may
choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to
their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments
provided under the Public Participation section of this notice.
Consultations Under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation
Act
In accordance with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's
implementing regulations, we are using this notice to solicit the views
of the public on the project's potential effects on historic
properties.\3\ We will document our findings on the impacts on cultural
resources and summarize the status of consultations under section 106
of the National Historic Preservation Act in our EA.
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\3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations
are at title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, part 800. Historic
properties are defined in those regulations as any prehistoric or
historic district, site, building, structure, or object included in
or eligible for inclusion in the National Register for Historic
Places.
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Public Participation
You can make a difference by providing us with your specific
comments or concerns about the 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 your comments so
that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before July 26,
2010.
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 (CP10-194-000) with your
submission. The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments and
has expert eFiling 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 at http://www.ferc.gov under the link
called ``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 that is listed under the ``Documents and Filings''
link. 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 to your submission.
New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on the links
called ``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 a paper copy of your comments at the following
address: Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Environmental Mailing List
The environmental mailing list includes federal, state, and local
government representatives and agencies; elected officials;
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; other
interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. This list also
includes all affected landowners (as defined in the Commission's
regulations) who are potential right-of-way grantors, whose property
may be used temporarily for project purposes, or who own homes within
certain distances of aboveground facilities, and anyone who submits
comments on the project. We will update the environmental mailing list
as the analysis proceeds to ensure that we send the information related
to this environmental review to all individuals, organizations, and
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the
proposed project.
If the EA is published for distribution, copies will be sent to the
environmental mailing list for public review and comment. If you would
prefer to receive a paper copy of the document instead of the CD
version or would like to remove your name from the mailing list, please
return the attached Information Request (appendix 2).
Becoming an Intervenor
In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want
to become an ``intervenor'' which is an official party to the
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling.
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the
Commission's website.
Additional Information
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (866) 208-FERC, or on the
FERC Web site at 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
(i.e., CP10-194). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date range.
For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at
[email protected] or toll free at (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. 2010-16279 Filed 7-2-10; 8:45 am]
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