[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2742]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: February 7, 1994]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP94-161-000]

 

Avoca Natural Gas Storage; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Avoca Gas Storage Field 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

February 1, 1994.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss environmental impacts of the construction and operation of 
facilities proposed in the Avoca Gas Storage Field Project.1 This 
EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to 
determine whether an environmental impact statement is necessary and 
whether or not to approve the project.
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    \1\Avoca Natural Gas Storage's (Avoca) 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Avoca Natural Gas Storage (Avoca) wants Commission authorization to 
construct and operate a new underground natural gas storage field near 
the town of Avoca in Steuben County, New York. Avoca proposes to 
solution mine 10 caverns out of a bedded salt formation. The caverns 
would have 6.72 billion cubic feet (BCF) of storage capacity (5 BCF 
working gas capacity). Avoca would construct the following facilities 
to use these caverns for natural gas storage:
     10 solution-mined cavern wells;
     3 water source wells;
     6 brine disposal wells;
     5,100 feet of 20-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;
     900 feet of 24-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;
     7,000 feet of 12-inch-diameter water withdrawal pipeline;
     15,400 feet of 12-inch-diameter water injection pipeline;
     15,400 feet of 12-inch-diameter brine return pipeline;
     25,600 feet of 12-inch-diameter brine disposal pipeline;
     15,400 feet of 2-inch-diameter diesel injection pipeline;
     A new 25,000-horsepower compressor station;
     An electric-motor driven pumping station (leach plant);
     A 0.23-acre, double-lined, brine settling pond;
     Gas dehydration facilities; and
     Storage tanks for coolant water, glycol, lube oil, 
hydrocarbons, methanol, and diesel fuel.

Schedule

    Avoca would develop the proposed project in three stages (referred 
to below as Phase 1, 2, and 3) over a period of 3 to 4 years.
    Phase 1 would include the construction of all solution mining, gas 
handling, water production, and brine disposal facilities. Phase 1 
would also include the development and operation of four storage 
caverns--with approximately 2 BCF of storage capacity. Completion of 
Phase 1 would take about 18 to 20 months.
    Phase 2 would include the development of four additional storage 
caverns (another 2 BCF of storage capacity).
    Phase 3 would include the development of the final 2 caverns (with 
1 BCF of storage capacity). Phases 2 and 3 would each take about 1 year 
to complete.
    The general location of these 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 are available from the 
Commission's Public Reference Branch, room 3104, 941 North Capitol 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. Copies of 
the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in the 
mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Avoca would use 200 acres of land for the Avoca Gas Storage Field 
Project. Of this total, 60 acres are associated with surface facilities 
such as the well pads, leach plant, compressor station, and brine 
ponds. The remaining 140 acres would be disturbed by activities related 
to gas, water supply, and brine disposal pipelines. Any temporary work 
areas, storage yards, etc., would be contained within the area 
designated for gas handling facilities.
    Following completion of construction, approximately 70 of the total 
200 acres would be allowed to revert to preconstruction conditions.
    Avoca proposes to use a 100-foot-wide construction right-of-way for 
its gas, water, and brine pipelines. Avoca's permanent rights-of-way 
for the pipelines outside the site property would vary from 25 to 50 
feet wide, depending on the number of pipelines in the easement: 25 
feet wide for single pipelines and 50 feet wide for multiple pipelines.

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. 
We call this ``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 requests public comments on the 
scope of the issues it will address in the EA. All comments received 
are taken into account during the preparation of the EA.
    The EA 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;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Endangered and threatened species;
     Land use;
     Cultural resources;
     Air quality and noise;
     Hazardous waste.
    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 
recommend that the Commission approve or not approve the project.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have already identified several environmental issues that we 
think deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the information provided by Avoca. Keep in mind that 
this is a preliminary list. The list of issues will be added to, 
subtracted from, or changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    The list of environmental issues:
     Avoca would drill a total of 19 new wells in Steuben 
County, New York: 10 solution-mined cavern, 3 water source, and 6 brine 
disposal wells. These facilities have a potential for groundwater and 
surface impact.
     Whether the structural geology of the area is sufficient 
to contain solution-mined caverns.
     Avoca proposes to use 2,000,000 gallons of water per day 
for the solution-mining process during the first 2 years of operation 
at the Avoca Gas Storage Field. This may have an impact on groundwater 
availability. Testing of wells in the local aquifers indicate that the 
water supply recharges up to 14,600,000 gallons of water per day.
     Avoca's pipelines would cross two perennial streams: Neils 
Creek and Cotton Creek. Both of these creeks are high-quality trout 
streams, classified as trout-spawning grounds by New York.
     Avoca's brine disposal pipelines would cross 16 wetlands.
     Avoca would construct a new compressor station and pumping 
facility. The nearest noise-sensitive area to Avoca's new compressor 
station and pumping facility is 2,400 feet to the northeast. There is 
the potential for air and noise quality impacts.
     Possible impact on federally listed threatened or 
endangered species.
     Possible impact on cultural resources.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by sending a letter addressing your 
specific comments or concerns about the project. You should focus on 
the potential environmental effects of the proposal, alternatives to 
the proposal (including alternative routes), and measures to avoid or 
lessen environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the more 
useful they will be.
    Please follow the instructions below to ensure that your comments 
are received and properly recorded:
     Address your letter to: Lois Cashell, Secretary, Federal 
Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North Capitol St., NE., Washington, 
DC 20426;
     Reference Docket No. CP94-161-000;
    Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. Steven G. Grape, EA 
Project Manager, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 825 North 
Capitol St., NE. room 7312, Washington, DC 20426; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 1, 1994.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Grape at the above address.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding or become an 
``intervenor''. Among other things, intervenors have the right to 
receive copies of case-related Commission documents and filings by 
other intervenors. Likewise, each intervenor must provide copies of its 
filings to all other parties. If you want 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) attached 
as appendix 2.
    The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding 
has passed. Therefore, parties now seeking to file late interventions 
must show good cause, as required by Sec. 385.214(b)(3), why this time 
limitation should be waived. Environmental issues have been viewed as 
good cause for late intervention. You do not need intervenor status to 
have your scoping comments considered.

Additional Questions?

    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. Steven G. Grape, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-0812.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 94-2742 Filed 2-4-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P