[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 225 (Tuesday, November 23, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65694-65696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-30483]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
[Docket No. CP-99-392-000, CP00-17-000 and CP00-19-000]


Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation, South Carolina Public 
Service Authority; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Assessment for the Proposed Southcoast Expansion Project and Request 
for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 17, 1999.
    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 SouthCoast Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Transcontinental 
Gas Pipe Line Corporation (Transco) in Choctaw, Marengo, Coosa, Coweta, 
and Chilton Counties, Alabama and Walton, Gwinnett, and Henry Counties, 
Georgia.\1\ These facilities would consist of about 44.3 miles of 
various diameter pipeline and 31,500 horsepower (hp) of compression. In 
addition, Santee Cooper, a power generating company, would construct 
about 5 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline to its planned power 
generating plant in Anderson County, South Carolina. 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\ Tranco'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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    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a pipeline company representative about the acquisition of an 
easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. 
The pipeline company would seek to negotiate a mutually acceptable 
agreement. However, if the project is approved by the Commission, that 
approval conveys with it the right of eminent domain. There, if 
easement negotiations fail to produce an agreement, the pipeline 
company could initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with 
state law. A fact sheet addressing a number of typically asked 
questions, including the use of eminent domain, is attached to this 
notice as 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 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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Transco wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in Alabama 
and Georgia to transport an additional 204,099 million British thermal 
units per day of natural gas to twelve shippers including one electric 
generating plant. Transco seeks authority to construct and operate:
     11.31 miles of 42-inch-diameter loop and a pig launcher 
and receiver in Choctaw County, Alabama;
     13.94 miles of 48-inch-diameter loop and to relocate an 
existing pig receiver in Marengo County, Alabama;
     19.01 miles of 24-inch-diameter loop (North Georgia Loop) 
and a pig launcher and receiver in Walton and Gwinnett Counties, 
Georgia;
     A new 15,000 horsepower (hp) gas turbine-powered 
compressor unit at Compressor Station 105 in Coosa County, Alabama;
     A new 16,500 hp electric motor driven compressor unit and 
gas coolers at Compressor Station 115 in Coweta County, Alabama;
     A rewheeled Compressor Unit 16 at Compressor Station 120 
in Henry County, Georgia; and
     New suction piping at Compressor Station 100 in Chilton 
County, Alabama, to allow sufficient gas flow to Compressor Unit 10.
    In addition, South Carolina Public Service Authority (Santee 
Cooper), a power generating company plans to construct about 2.1 miles 
of 16-inch-diameter pipeline to its planned power generating plant 
called the John S. Rainey Generating Station in Anderson County, South 
Carolina including associated water pipelines and intake/discharge 
facilities near the plant. It would also construct about two 
approximately 30 mile-long 230 kilowatt electric transmission lines 
from the power plant to an existing Greenwood County, South Carolina 
switching station near Hodges, South Carolina.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
2. If you are interested in obtaining maps of a specific portion of the 
project, write to the Office of External Affairs and include the form 
in appendix 4.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 577.7 
acres of land. Following construction, about 107.5 acres would be 
maintained as new permanent right-of-way and aboveground facility 
sites. The remaining 470.2 acres of land would be restored and allowed 
to revert to its former use.

[[Page 65695]]

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 ``scooping''. The main goal of the scooping 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 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 scooping 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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section beginning on page 5.

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 Transco. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     69 perennial streams would be crossed in Alabama and 
Georgia.
     Two waterbodies over 100 feet wide would be crossed in 
Alabama, the Tombigbee River and Tuckabum Creek. The Tombigbee River 
would be directionally drilled and Tuckabum Creek would be crossed by 
the open-cut method.
     Three federally listed endangered or threatened species 
may occur in the project area. Several state listed endangered or 
threatened species may be affected.
     About 33.2 acres of wetlands would be disturbed during 
construction and about 9.8 acres of wetlands would be maintained as 
permanent right-of-way.
     About 252.9 acres of forest land would be cleared.
     Cultural resources sites may potentially be impacted by 
the project.
     Fourteen residences would be located within 50 feet of the 
construction work area on the 24-inch-diameter North Georgia Loop.
    Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the 
impacts of nonjurisdictional Santee Cooper electric power plant, the 
related water pipeline facilities, and the electric transmission lines. 
Environmental review of these nonjurisdictional facilities is being 
conducted by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. We will briefly 
describe their location and status in the EA.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commentor, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative 
locations/routes), and 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, 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE, 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of the 
Environmental Review and Compliance Branch, PR-11.2;
     Reference Docket No. CP99-392-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before December 17, 1999.
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request 
(appendix 4). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be 
taken off the mailing list.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scooping 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 3). 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. 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 of the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 
208-1088 or on the FERC website (www.ferc.fed.us) using the ``RIMS'' 
link to information in this docket number. Click on the ``RIMS'' link, 
select ``Docket #'' from the RIMS Menu, and follow the instructions. 
For assistance with access to RIMS, the RIMS helpline can be reached at 
(202) 208-2222.
    Similarly, the ``CIPS'' link on the FERC Internet website provides 
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such 
as orders, notices, and rulemaking. From the FERC Internet website, 
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and 
follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS

[[Page 65696]]

helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.
David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 99-30483 Filed 11-22-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-M