[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 91 (Thursday, May 11, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25211-25212]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-11632]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP95-143-000]


Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for Southern Natural Gas Company's Proposed 
Graniteville Line Project and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

May 5, 1995.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss environmental impacts of the construction and operation of the 
facilities proposed in the Graniteville Line Project. This EA will be 
used by the Commission in its decisionmaking process to determine 
whether an environmental impact statement is necessary and whether to 
approve the project.\1\

    \1\Southern Natural Gas Company's application was filed with the 
Commission pursuant to section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 
of the Commission's regulations.
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Summary of the Proposed Projects

    Southern Natural Gas Company (Southern) proposes to:
     Construct approximately 3.5 miles of 8-inch-diameter 
natural gas pipeline in Aiken County, South Carolina, which would 
replace approximately 3.5 miles of 4-inch-diameter pipeline. This 
proposed pipeline, referred to as the ``Graniteville Line'', would 
commence at a tie-in at milepost (MP) 501.0 on Southern's existing 
South Main Line and proceed in a northwesterly direction to a proposed 
interconnection with Southern's new Graniteville Mills Meter Station;
     Construct a new meter station at the Graniteville Mills 
interconnect to replace the existing Graniteville Mills meter station 
in Aiken County, South Carolina. The proposed meter station would 
consist of two 4-inch-diameter meter runs, a pressure regulator, and 
approximately 125 feet of miscellaneous buried piping. This facility 
would require a site approximately 150 feet by 150 feet for 
construction and operation. This construction would occur on the 
Graniteville Company's plant site in Graniteville, South Carolina;
     Construct a regulator station near MP 2.6 approximately 
100 feet by 100 feet and an odorization facility at the take-off point 
on an approximate area of 50 feet by 50 feet; and
      Abandon in place the existing 4-inch-diameter 
Graniteville Line, except for approximately 0.5 mile of pipeline 
between MP 2.810 and MP 2.317, which [[Page 25212]] would remain in 
service to serve existing customers.
    Southern indicates that the proposed pipeline facilities would 
deliver an additional total firm transportation service of 3,625 
thousand cubic feet (Mcf) of natural gas per day to Graniteville 
Company.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\2\

    \2\The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available from the 
Commission's Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, Room 
3104, 941 North Capitol Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 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

    Southern proposes to use a 70-foot-wide construction right-of-way 
in nonagricultural areas and a 90-foot-wide construction right-of-way 
in agricultural areas. Following construction, a 50-foot-wide easement 
would be permanently maintained; the remaining 20 feet in 
nonagricultural areas and 40 feet in agricultural areas would be 
restored and revert back to prior use. About 30 acres would be affected 
by construction.
    Additional working space would be required adjacent to the planned 
construction right-of-way at areas of steep side slopes, road, 
railroad, waterbody crossings, and wetlands. No new access roads would 
be required.

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. 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.
    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
     Public 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 
recommend that the Commission approve or not approve the project.

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 Southern. Keep in mind that 
this is a preliminary list. The list of issues may be added to, 
subtracted from, or changed based on your comments and our analysis. 
Issues are:
     The proposed project would cross five waterbodies, four of 
which are perennial. The perennial waterbodies are Horse Creek (crossed 
twice), an unnamed tributary to Horse Creek, and the Sand River. These 
waterbodies support valuable riparian vegetation, which helps stabilize 
soil to prevent erosion and provides habitat for wildlife. These 
waterbodies may also support fishery resources.
     The pipeline would cross 0.35 mile of wetlands. These 
wetlands are classified as palustrine forested.
     The federally endangered red-cockaded woodpecker may exist 
within the immediate vicinity of the proposed pipeline right-of-way.
     About 17 acres of upland forest would be disturbed.
     Residences may be located within 50 feet of the edge of 
the proposed construction right-of-way.
     Right-of-way widths.

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., N.E., Washington, 
D.C. 20426;
     Reference Docket No. CP95-143-000;
     Send a copy of your letter to: Mr. David Gallo, 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 June 12, 1995.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Mr. Gallo 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 proceedings 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) (see 
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 section 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 information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. David Gallo, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-2066.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-11632 Filed 5-10-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M