[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76003-76004]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-30594]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP09-432-000]
Tricor Ten Section Hub LLC; Notice of Availability of the
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Ten Section Gas Storage
Project
November 29, 2010.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared an environmental assessment (EA) for the Ten
Section Gas Storage Project, in Kern County, California, proposed by
Tricor Ten Section Hub LLC (Tricor) in the above referenced docket.
Tricor requests authorization to utilize the depleted underground
capacity available within Zone 1 of the Upper Stevens Sands of the
existing Ten Section oil and gas field, about 12 miles southwest of
Bakersfield, to store about 22.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
The EA assesses the potential environmental effects of the
construction and operation of the Ten Section Gas Storage Project in
accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA). The FERC staff concludes that approval of the proposed
project, with appropriate mitigating measures, would not constitute a
major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human
environment.
The California Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas, and
Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) participated as a cooperating agency in
the preparation of the EA. Cooperating agencies have jurisdiction by
law or special expertise with respect to resources potentially affected
by the proposal and participate in the NEPA analysis. DOGGR has the
authority to review Notices of Intent to drill or rework wells and
injection project applications, under California state laws and
regulations. DOGGR may adopt the EA for purposes of its environmental
review of the Project.
The Ten Section Storage Project would consist of the following
facilities that would fall under the authority or jurisdiction of the
FERC:
26 new gas injection/withdrawal wells drilled from 5 well
pads at the field;
2 new (low pressure and high pressure) 20-inch-diameter
field pipelines connecting the gas injection/withdrawal wells to the
compressor station;
5 existing water disposal wells at the field used for the
same purpose;
new 4-inch-diameter water disposal pipeline from the
proposed Tricor compressor station to the existing water disposal
wells;
2 existing water supply wells and new associated pipelines
to provide water for field operations and hydrostatic testing;
9 existing oil production wells in the field converted
into observation wells;
new 42,000-horsepower (hp) electric-driven field
compressor station;
new 36-inch-diameter bi-directional header pipeline,
extending about 20.5 miles, between Tricor's compressor station and the
existing Kern-Mojave pipeline; and
new metering and regulating station at the interconnection
between the Tricor header pipeline with the Kern-Mojave pipeline.
In addition, as part of this Project, the following facilities
would be constructed and operated which are not regulated by the FERC
(non-jurisdictional facilities):
New electric substation, to be designed, built, owned, and
operated by Pacific Gas and Electric company (PG&E) about 1.5 miles
southwest of the storage field;
new 1.6-miles-long, 230-kilovolt transmission line, to be
designed, built, owned, and operated by PG&E, connecting the new
electric substation with Tricor's compressor station;
new 30,000 barrel oil tank within the proposed compressor
station tract, and
new 10-inch-diameter, 0.3-mile-long oil pipeline between
the proposed Tricor compressor station and the existing facilities of
Kern Oil.
The EA has been placed in the public files of the FERC and is
available for public viewing on the FERC's Web site at http://www.ferc.gov using the eLibrary link. A limited number of copies of the
EA are available for distribution and public inspection at: Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street,
NE., Room 2A, Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
Copies of the EA have been mailed to Federal, State, and local
government representatives and agencies; elected officials; interested
Native American tribes; potentially affected landowners; local
libraries; other interested individuals; and parties to this
proceeding.
Any person wishing to comment on the EA may do so. 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 properly recorded and considered prior to
a Commission decision on the proposal, it is important that the FERC
receives your comments in Washington, DC on or before December 31,
2010.
For your convenience, there are three methods you can use to submit
your comments to the Commission. In all instances, please reference the
project docket number (CP09-432-000) with your submission. 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 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.
Although your comments will be considered by the Commission, simply
filing comments will not serve to make the commenter a party to the
proceeding. Any person seeking to become a party to the proceeding must
file a motion to intervene pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's
Rules of Practice and Procedures (18 CFR
[[Page 76004]]
385.214).\1\ Only intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the
Commission's decision.
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\1\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing
comments electronically.
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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 comments considered.
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 (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., CP09-432). 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.
Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-30594 Filed 12-6-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P