[Federal Register: September 28, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 187)]
[Notices]
[Page 56679-56681]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr28se05-116]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP05-405-000]
Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America; Notice of Intent To
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Lansing NSS
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues
September 16, 2005.
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 Lansing NSS Project
involving construction and operation of facilities by Natural Gas
Pipeline Company of America (Natural) in Harrison County, Texas.\1\ The
proposed facilities include new storage wells, field pipelines and
appurtenances, storage well recompletions, a new 30-inch-diameter loop
pipeline, 13,000 horsepower (hp) of compression and related facilities.
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\ Natural's application was filed with the Commission under
section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's
regulations.
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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
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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 Natural 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
Natural is proposing to provide additional cycled working gas
capacity at its North Lansing Storage Field in Harrison County, Texas
by increasing the withdrawal rate during late season conditions.
Natural's proposed construction would allow 10 billion cubic feet (Bcf)
of cushion gas to be converted into cycled working gas, for a total
working gas capacity of 95.2 Bcf in the North Lansing Storage Field. In
addition, Natural seeks authority to increase the field's certificated
peak day withdrawal level from 1100 million cubic feet (MMcf) to 1240
MMcf. There would be no change in the maximum inventory level of the
field. Natural seeks authority to:
Drill twelve new injection/withdrawal storage wells from
seven well pads;
Recomplete sixteen existing injection/withdrawal storage
wells (non jurisdictional);
Install new pigging facilities and modify existing
pipeline and compressor station appurtenances (non jurisdictional);
Install about 1.8 miles of 12-inch-diameter field
pipelines and appurtenances;
Upgrade existing field pipelines, meters, and
appurtenances;
Construct 8.7 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop pipeline;
Add a 30-inch-diameter tap to the Gulf Coast 3
mainline; and
Add 13,000 hp of compression, gas cooling, separation,
metering, a transformer, and related equipment at the existing
Compressor Station 388.
The general 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, 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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Land Requirements for Construction
Construction of all project facilities, including pipelines, well
pads, access roads, a pipe storage yard and extra workspaces would
impact approximately 209 acres. Construction disturbance includes a
100-foot-wide construction right-of-way for the new 30-inch-diameter
pipeline, an 80-foot-wide construction right-of-way for the new field
pipelines, one new well pad and the expansion of six existing well
pads. The alignment of all new pipelines would be adjacent to existing
maintained pipeline right-of-way. Modifications to the compressor
station would be performed completely within Natural's property at the
station site, with the exception of a 4-inch-diameter water line that
would run outside of the station fencing. The sixteen well
recompletions and meter upgrades would be performed on existing well
pads and would result in no new disturbance areas.
Following construction, about 88 acres would be maintained as new
aboveground facility sites, access roads, or 50-foot-wide permanent
pipeline right-of-way. The remaining 121 acres of land would be
restored and allowed to revert to its former use.
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
Water resources and wetlands
Fisheries, vegetation, and wildlife
Endangered and threatened species
Land use, recreation, and visual resources
Socioeconomics
Cultural resources
Air quality and noise
Reliability and safety
We will also evaluate possible 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 beginning on page 5.
Currently Identified Environmental Issues
We have already identified several issues that we think deserve
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and
the environmental information provided by Natural. This preliminary
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
There are thirteen existing and planned residences and out
buildings within 50 feet of the construction work areas.
The project would permanently impact approximately 12
acres of soils that are potentially prime farmland soils.
There are three private wells located within 150 feet of
the project construction boundary.
Five perennial streams, fourteen intermittent streams, and
ten wetlands would be crossed by the proposed project.
Clearing of 83 acres of upland forest would be necessary
for well pad and pipeline construction.
Suitable habitat is present for the federally listed
threatened Louisiana black bear, and Texas State listed
[[Page 56681]]
threatened species including the northern scarlet snake, timber/
canebrake rattlesnake, and Rafinesque's big-eared bat.
Three noise sensitive areas (i.e. residences) are located
approximately 875 feet north, 1,210 feet northeast, and 837 feet
northwest from the compressor station.
Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the
impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities that do not require
clearing, grading or excavation. We will briefly describe their
location and status in the EA. Nonjurisdictional facilities that
require disturbance will be included in the project analysis.
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 (including alternative
locations/routes), 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: Magalie
R. Salas, 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. CP05-405-000.
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before October 17, 2005.
Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our
environmental analysis of this project. However, 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.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-5204 Filed 9-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P