[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 195 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54132-54133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-26932]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP96-153-004]


Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Availability of the Final 
Supplement to the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed 
Amended North Alabama Pipeline Project

October 2, 1998.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this Final Supplement to the Final 
Environmental Impact Statement (Supplement) for the North Alabama 
Pipeline Project. It addresses the environmental impact of the amended 
natural gas pipeline project proposed by Southern Natural Gas Company 
(Southern) in the above referenced docket.
    The staff prepared the Supplement to satisfy the requirements of 
the National Environmental Policy Act. The staff concludes that the 
Amended North Alabama Pipeline Project would result in limited adverse 
environmental impact if it is constructed as planned and with 
additional mitigation recommended in this Supplement. This document 
supplements the North Alabama Pipeline Project Final Environmental 
Impact Statement (FEIS) that was noticed in the Federal Register by the 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on May 30, 1997. The Supplement 
only examines the route changes north of milepost 95.25 (about milepost 
91.2 of the route previously studied in the FEIS). There are no changes 
in the facilities south of milepost 95.25.
    The Supplement assesses the potential environmental effects of the 
construction and operation of the following facilities proposed by 
Southern:
     about 27.1 miles of interstate natural gas pipeline (26.9 
miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline and 0.2 mile of 12-inch-diameter 
pipeline); and
     two new meter stations, and related facilities.
    Facilities required by two local distribution companies to receive 
natural gas from Southern are also examined.
    The purpose of Southern's proposed facilities would be to transport 
a total of 69 million cubic feet per day of natural gas to one existing 
and two new customers in northern Alabama.
    The Supplement has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for public inspection at:
    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Reference and Files 
Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE, Room 2A, Washington, DC 
20426, (202) 208-1371.
    A limited number of copies are available at this location.
    Copies of the Supplement have been mailed to Federal, state, and 
local agencies, public interest groups, interested individuals, 
newspapers, and parties to this proceeding.
    In accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) 
regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, no 
agency decision on a proposed action may be made until 30 days after 
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) publishes a notice of 
availability of the Supplement. However, the CEQ regulations provide an 
exception to this rule when an agency decision is subject to a formal 
internal appeal process which allows other agencies or the public to 
make their views known. In such cases, the agency decision may be made 
at the same time that the notice of availability is issued by EPA, 
allowing both appeal periods to run concurrently. Should the FERC issue 
Southern a certificate for the proposed action, it would be subject to 
a 30-day rehearing period. Therefore, the FERC could issue its decision 
concurrently with the EPA's notice of availability.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
Paul

[[Page 54133]]

McKee in the Commission's Office of External Affairs, at (202) 208-
1088.
Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 98-26932 Filed 10-7-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M