[Federal Register: June 2, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 106)]
[Notices]
[Page 32070-32071]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr02jn06-60]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP06-85-000]
Centerpoint Energy Gas Transmission Company; Notice of
Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the
Proposed Carthage to Perryville Project
May 26, 2006.
The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or
Commission) has prepared this Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(EIS) for the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by CenterPoint
Energy Gas Transmission (CEGT) under the above-referenced docket.
CEGT's Carthage to Perryville Project (Project) would be located in
various counties and parishes in eastern Texas and northern Louisiana.
This Draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the
National Environmental Policy Act. The FERC staff concludes that the
proposed Project, with the appropriate mitigation measures as
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers (COE) are Federal cooperating agencies for the development of
this EIS. A Federal cooperating agency has jurisdiction by law or
special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved
with the proposal and is involved in the NEPA analysis.
The general purpose of the proposed Project is to facilitate the
transport of up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas
received from production areas in eastern Texas, as well as northern
Louisiana, to markets in the Midwest and Northeastern regions of the
United States that can be accessed through interconnects with existing
pipeline infrastructure.
The Draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of
construction and operation of the following facilities:
About 171.9 miles of 42-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline
in Panola County, Texas, and Caddo, DeSoto, Red River, Bienville,
Jackson, Ouachita, and Richland Parishes, Louisiana;
Two new, 20,620 horsepower (hp) gas-turbine-driven
compressor stations, the Panola and Vernon Compressor Stations, located
in Panola County, Texas, and Jackson Parish, Louisiana, respectively;
Two meter and regulator stations at receipt points with
three intrastate pipelines, including:
--Houston Pipe Line (HPL) Meter/Regulator (M/R) Station in Panola
County, Texas;
--Duke Energy Field Services-Enbridge M/R Station in Panola County,
Texas;
Four new meter and regulator stations at interconnects
with existing interstate pipelines, including:
--Texas Gas M/R Station in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana;
--ANR M/R Station in Richland Parish, Louisiana;
--Trunkline M/R Station in Richland Parish, Louisiana;
--Columbia Gulf M/R Station in Richland Parish, Louisiana;
11 mainline valves; and
Four pig launcher/receiver facilities associated with the
Panola and Vernon Compressor Stations and the HPL and Columbia Gulf M/R
Stations.
CEGT proposes to construct its pipeline facilities in two phases.
Construction of Phase I would be initiated in October 2006 and
completed by February 2007, at which point CEGT would place the
proposed Project in-service. Under Phase I, a single, 10,310-hp turbine
compressor would be installed at each compressor station. Under Phase
II, a second compressor would be installed to bring the total installed
compression at each facility to 20,620 hp. CEGT indicates that Phase II
facilities would be installed and operational by October 2008.
Comment Procedures and Public Meetings
Any person wishing to comment on the Draft EIS may do so. To ensure
that your comments are timely and properly recorded so that they may be
considered in the Final EIS, please carefully follow these
instructions:
Send an original and two copies of your comments to:
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888
First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
Label one copy of your comments for the attention of Gas
Branch 3, DG2E;
Reference Docket No. CP06-85-000 on the original and both
copies; and
Mail your comments so that they will be received in
Washington, DC on or before July 17, 2006.
To expedite the FERC's receipt and consideration of your comments,
electronic submission of comments is strongly encouraged by the
Commission. For information on electronically filing comments, please
see 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, as well as information in 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii). Before you
can
[[Page 32071]]
submit comments you will need to create a free account, which can be
created on-line by clicking on ``Sign-up'' under ``New User.'' You will
also be asked to select the type of filing you are making. This filing
is consisdered a ``Comment on Filing.''
In lieu of or in addition to sending written comments, we invite
you to attend the public comment meetings the FERC will conduct in the
project area to receive comments on the Draft EIS. The public comment
meetings on the Draft EIS for the Carthage to Perryville Project will
be conducted jointly with the public scoping meetings for the East
Texas Expansion Project (FERC Docket No. PF06-17-000), which we are
currently evaluating under our Pre-Filing Process. All meetings will
begin at 7 p.m. (CDT), and are scheduled as follows:
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Date and time Location
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Wednesday, June 21, 2006..... Quitman High School Auditorium, 181
Wolverine Drive, Quitman, LA 71268,
Telephone: (318) 259-2698.
Thursday, June 22, 2006...... Delhi High School Auditorium, 413 Main
Street, Delhi, LA 71232, Telephone:
(318) 878-2235.
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The public comment meetings will be posted on the FERC's calendar
located at http://www.ferc.gov/ EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx.
Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and present
oral comments on the Draft EIS. Transcripts of the meetings will be
prepared.
After the comments received are reviewed, any significant new
issues are investigated, and modifications are made to the Draft EIS, a
Final EIS will be published and distributed by the FERC staff. The
Final EIS will contain the staff's responses to timely comments
received on the Draft EIS.
Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to
make the commentor 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 385.214). Anyone may intervene in this proceeding
based on this Draft EIS. You must file your request to intervene as
specified above.\1\ You do not need intervenor status to have your
comments considered.
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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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The Draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and
is available for public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street N.E., Room 2A,
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
A limited number of copies of the Draft EIS are available from the
Public Reference Room identified above. In addition, CD copies of the
Draft EIS have been mailed to affected landowners; various Federal,
state, and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental
and public interest groups; Native American tribes; local libraries and
newspapers; intervenors; and other individuals that expressed an
interest in the proposed Project. Hard-copies of the Draft EIS have
also been mailed to those who requested that format during the scoping
period for the proposed Project.
To reduce printing and mailing costs for the Final EIS, the FERC
will be issuing that document in both CD and hard-copy formats. In a
separate mailing, the parties on the current mailing list for the Draft
EIS will be sent a postcard providing an opportunity to select the
format of the Final EIS that they wish to receive. The FERC is strongly
encouraging the use of the CD format in their publication of large
documents.
Additional information about the project is available from the
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC (3372) or on
the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). Using the ``eLibrary
link,'' select ``General Search'' and enter the project docket number
excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP06-85) 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 TTY (202)
502-8659. The eLibrary link on the FERC Internet Web site also provides
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such
as orders, notices, and rule makings.
In addition, the FERC now offers a free service called
eSubscription that 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. To register for this service, go to http://www.ferc.gov/
esubscribenow.htm.
Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-8599 Filed 6-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P