[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 205 (Monday, October 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65475-65477]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-26823]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP10-494-000]
Tallulah Gas Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Tallulah Gas Storage Project,
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Onsite
Environmental Review
October 18, 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 Tallulah Gas Storage Project,
involving construction and operation of facilities by Tallulah Gas
Storage, LLC (TGS) in Madison Parish, Louisiana. 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 evaluated in the EA. Please note that
the scoping period will close on November 17, 2010. Further details on
how to submit written comments are provided in the Public Participation
section of this notice.
On November 3, 2010, the Office of Energy Projects staff will
conduct on onsite environmental review of the project area to gather
data for its environmental analysis of the proposed project. Staff will
examine the specific pipeline route, leaching plant location, caverns,
well locations, and alternative locations filed by TGS. Viewing of this
area is anticipated to be from public access points and TGS' right-of-
way.
All interested parties are invited to attend but must provide their
own transportation. Those attending should meet at the following
location and time:
On November 3, 2010 at 1 p.m. Central Time in the parking
area of the TA Travel Center at 224 Highway 65 in Tallulah, Louisiana
at Exit 171 of Interstate-20. Meet by the company truck with the
``Tallulah Gas Storage'' sign.
This notice is being sent to the Commission's current environmental
mailing list for this 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 storage 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 company could initiate
condemnation proceedings where compensation would be determined in
accordance with State or Federal 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 TGS 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
TGS proposes to construct a new natural gas storage facility within
a geologic salt dome in Madison Parish, Louisiana. The Tallulah Gas
Storage Project would include three salt dome storage caverns, each
with a capacity of 11.4 billion cubic feet (Bcf), for a total facility
capacity of 34.2 Bcf. According to TGS, its project would provide
storage services through interconnections with four nearby interstate
natural gas transmission pipelines.
The Tallulah Gas Storage Project would consist of the following
facilities:
Three storage caverns;
Dual 3.29-mile-long, 24-inch-diameter bidirectional
natural gas pipelines;
One 28,410-horsepower compressor station;
A leaching plant;
14 salt water disposal wells, 3 raw water supply wells,
and 1 observation well;
Other appurtenant water and brine disposal pipelines; and
4.5 miles of nonjurisdictional electric distribution lines
and additional electric facilities.
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 disturb about 147
acres of land for the storage facility, the pipeline rights-of-way, and
additional temporary workspaces. Following construction, about 74 acres
would be maintained for permanent operation of the project's
facilities; the remaining acreage 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
[[Page 65476]]
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 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 for section 106 of the National Historic
Preservation Act, we are using this notice to initiate consultation
with the Louisiana State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), and to
solicit its views and those of other government agencies, interested
Indian tribes, and the public on the project's potential effects on
historic properties.\3\ We will define the project-specific Area of
Potential Effects (APE) in consultation with the SHPO as the project is
further developed. On natural gas facility projects, the APE at a
minimum encompasses all areas subject to ground disturbance (examples
include construction right-of-way, contractor/pipe storage yards,
compressor stations, and access roads). Our EA for this project will
document our findings on the impacts on historic properties and
summarize the status of consultations under section 106.
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\3\ The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation's regulations
are at Title 36 of the 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
them so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before
November 17, 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 (CP10-494-000) 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 eComment
feature, which is located on the Commission's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. An eComment is an
easy method for interested persons to submit brief, 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 Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the link to Documents and Filings. With eFiling you
can provide comments in a variety of formats by attaching them as a
file with your submission. New eFiling users must first create an
account by clicking on ``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 Web site.
[[Page 65477]]
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., CP10-494). 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 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.
Any public meetings or additional site visits will be posted on the
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.
Finally, to request additional information on the project or to
provide comments directly to the project sponsor, you can contact TGS
through its parent company Icon NGS by calling toll free at 1-877-318-
3938 or by e-mail at ngs.com">info@icon-ngs.com. Also, TGS has established an
Internet Web site at http://www.tallulahgas.com with additional
information about the project. In addition, TGS has made information
about the project available to the local community by placing the
public portion of the its FERC application in the Madison Parish
Library located at 403 North Mulberry in Tallulah, Louisiana.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-26823 Filed 10-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P