[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 63 (Thursday, April 2, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16256-16257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-8619]



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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP98-250-000]


Puget Sound Energy, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Jackson Prairie Storage Field 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

March 27, 1998.
    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 
facilities proposed in the Jackson Prairie Storage Field Project.\1\ 
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\ Puget Sound Energy, Inc'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

    Puget Sound Energy, Inc. (Puget), as project operator,\2\ proposes 
to construct the following facilities at the Jackson Prairie Storage 
Field in Lewis County, Washington:
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    \2\ The storage field is owned in equal one-third undivided 
interests by Puget, Northwest Pipeline Corporation, and Washington 
Water Power Company.
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     Eight new Zone 2 withdrawal/injection wells installed at 
three new and four expanded existing well pads;
     About 1,093 feet of new 8-inch and 10-inch-diameter well 
lateral pipeline;
     A new 24-inch-diameter pipeline to be installed within the 
existing right-of-way, extending 9,235 feet between the Jackson Prairie 
Compressor Station and the Jackson Prairie valve/manifold tie-in 
station located adjacent to Northwest Pipeline Corporation's Chehalis 
Compressor Station;
     One new 6,960-horsepower compressor unit and associated 
facilities at the existing Jackson Prairie Compressor Station; and
     New metering equipment, filter separator, and piping 
modifications to be installed inside the existing fenced area at the 
Jackson Prairie Meter Station.
    The location of the storage field is shown in appendix 1.\3\
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    \3\ 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, 888 
First 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

    The new 24-inch-diameter pipeline would be constructed within an 
existing 50-foot-wide permanent right-of-way and would disturb about 
10.6 acres of land. Additional work areas (each 50 feet by 100 feet) 
located outside the existing pipeline right-of-way would be required on 
both sides of the right-of-way at a road crossing at the intersection 
of Meier Road and Meier Road East.
    The eight new withdrawal/injection wells would require a total of 
about 4.7 acres of land for construction. The well pads range in size 
from 75 feet by 200 feet to 150 feet by 250 feet. Each of the eight 
wells would require either 8-inch or 10-inch-diameter lateral pipelines 
to connect the new wells to the existing pipeline gathering and lateral 
system. At the four new well sites that are adjacent to existing wells, 
no new rights-of-way would be needed because all of the pipeline would 
be within the well pad area. At Well Nos. 74, 75, 78, and 79, new 50-
foot-wide construction and permanent rights-of-way would be established 
for the lateral pipelines outside the proposed well pads totaling about 
0.26 acres.
    Well Nos. 73, 74, and 75 would require new access roads to connect 
the new well sites to existing project roads. Well No. 73 would require 
a 250-foot-long gravel road within an existing 16-inch pipeline right-
of-way to access the new well pad. Well Nos. 74 and 75 would require a 
25-foot road extension.
    The additional comprehension facilities would occupy 1.4 acres 
directly adjacent to the existing Jackson Prairie Compressor Station. 
At the existing Jackson Prairie Meter Station construction would be 
within the existing fenced area.

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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section on page 4 of this 
Notice.
    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 and wetlands
    *vegetation and wildlife
    *endangered and threatened species
    *land use
    *cultural resources
    *air and noise
    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.

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 Puget. These issues may be 
changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     A total of about 5.3 acres of wetlands would be affected 
by construction.
     About 2.6 acres of young Douglas-fir trees within an 
existing tree farm would be permanently removed.
     There may be additional noise impact on nearby noise-
sensitive areas resulting from the additional compressor unit.

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, and

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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 two copies of your letter to: David P. Boergers, Acting 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., N.E., 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
    *Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.1;
    *Reference Docket No. CP98-250-000; and
    *Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC 
on or before April 24, 1998.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an 
``intervenor''. Intervenors play a more formal role in the process. 
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 14 copies of its filings to the 
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all 
other parties on the Commission's service list for this proceeding. 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). Only intervenors have the 
right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
    The date for filing timely motions to intervene in this proceeding 
has passed having ended on March 26, 1998. 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 environmental 
comments considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Mr. Paul McKee in the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 
208-1088.
David P. Boergers,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-8619 Filed 4-1-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M