[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 173 (Thursday, September 7, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46584-46586]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22115]



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[[Page 46585]]


DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. CP95-668-000]


CNG Transmission Corporation and Texas Eastern Transmission 
Corporation; Intent to Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the 
Proposed South Oakford Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

August 31, 1995.
    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 construction and operation of 
the facilities proposed in the South Oakford 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 to 
approve the project.

    \1\ CNG Transmission Corporation and Texas Eastern Transmission 
Corporation'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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    CNG Transmission Corporation (CNG) and Texas Eastern Transmission 
Corporation (Texas Eastern) want to abandon by removal their Jeannette 
Compressor Station, to add compression at their South Oakford 
Compressor Station, to construct storage pipelines, and to install 
related facilities at the South Oakford Gate and the Earhart Gate, all 
in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. CNG and Texas Eastern request 
authorization to abandon:
     All buildings, parking lots, drive ways, equipment, 
piping, and 7,980 horsepower (hp) of compression at the Jeanette 
Compressor Station;
     A pig receiver near the Jeannette Compressor station;
     75 feet of Line JP-40 within the Earhart Gate; and
     A 20-inch mainline gate setting for Line JP-250 at the 
Earhart Gate.
    CNG and Texas Eastern request authorization to construct and 
operate:
     10,000 hp of electric motor-driven compression at the 
South Oakford Compressor Station;
     A pig receiver and barrel dip at the Earhart Gate;
     3,158 feet of 30-inch-diameter storage suction pipeline 
(Line JP-296) between the South Oakford Compressor Station and the 
South Oakford Gate;
     3,158 feet of 20-inch-diameter storage discharge pipeline 
(Line JP-297) between the South Oakford Compressor Station and the 
South Oakford Gate; and
     Facilities to interconnect new Lines JP-296 and JP-297 to 
existing Lines JP-250 and JP-40, respectively, at the South Oakford 
Gate.
    A nonjurisdictional West Penn Power owned and operated substation 
(100 feet by 100 feet) would be constructed at the South Oakford 
Compressor Station.
    CNG and Texas Eastern want to construct the proposed facilities 
between May and November 1996. Removal of the abandoned facilities at 
the Jeannette Compressor Station would begin in the spring of 1997.
    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 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

    Construction of the proposed facilities would disturb about 10 
acres of land, all of which is on existing right-of-way or on property 
owned by CNG and Texas Eastern. Construction of the pipelines would be 
entirely within existing rights-of-way, but would disturb about 6.5 
acres. All land disturbance at the South Oakford and Earhart Gates, 
about 1 acre total, would be within the existing gate sites and 
pipeline rights-of-way. The new West Penn Power substation would be 
enclosed within the South Oakford Compressor Station by moving the 
existing fence to surround the new substation. This would add about 2.5 
acres to the existing 5-acre fenced site.

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 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.
    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

     Public safety

     Land use

     Cultural resources

     Air quality and noise

     Hazardous waste

    We will also evaluate possible alternative 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 one issue that we think deserves 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
the environmental information provided by CNG and Texas Eastern: The 
addition of compression at the South Oakford Compressor Station may 
increase noise levels at nearby residences.
    Keep in mind that this is a preliminary issue. Issues may be added, 
subtracted, or changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the 
impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities off the South Oakford 
Compressor Station site. We will briefly describe their location and 
status in the EA.

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 locations), and measures to avoid 
or lessen environmental impact. The more specific your comments, the 

[[Page 46586]]
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. CP95-668-000;
     Send a copy of your letter to: Ms. Jennifer Goggin, 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 September 28, 1995.
    If you wish to receive a copy of the EA, you should request one 
from Ms. Goggin 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 
fillings 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 as stated in the 
Notice of Application issued on August 15, 1995, in this proceeding is 
September 5, 1995. Parties 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 
Ms. Jennifer Goggin, EA Project Manager, at (202) 208-2226.
Lois D. Cashell,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 95-22115 Filed 9-6-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M