[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 17, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52759-52760]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-26102]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-1-000]


Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Application

October 11, 2001.
    Take notice that on October 1, 2001, Southern Natural Gas Company 
(Southern), Post Office Box 2563, Birmingham, Alabama 35202-2563, filed 
in Docket No. CP02-1-000, an application pursuant to Section 7(b) and 
7(c) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and part 157 of the Federal Energy 
Regulatory Commission's Regulations (Commission), for authorization to 
abandon certain compression facilities and for a certificate of public 
convenience and necessity authorizing the construction, installation 
and operation of certain pipeline, compression, measurement, 
interconnection and appurtenant facilities in Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Alabama, and Georgia, all as more fully set forth in the application 
which is on file with the Commission and open to public inspection. 
Copies of this filing are on file with the Commission and are available 
for public inspection. This filing may also be viewed on the Web at 
http://www.ferc.gov using the ``RIMS'' link, select ``Docket #'' and 
follow the instructions (call 202-208-2222 for assistance).
    Southern states that it proposes a significant expansion of its 
pipeline system. According to Southern, eight shippers have entered 
into firm transportation service agreements for a total of 359,891 Mcf 
per day of Transportation Demand and that a small amount of this new 
service has been contracted for by a municipal gas system and two 
industrial end users connected directly to Southern's system. Southern 
states that the vast majority of the new service, however, will be used 
to serve existing, new, and expanded gas-fired electric generation 
facilities. Southern states that all eight shippers have executed a new 
or amended service agreement providing for an initial term of 15 years 
for their new Transportation Demands.
    Southern states that to provide the capacity for these new 
transportation services, Southern proposes to construct, install, and 
operate approximately 123 miles of loop pipeline and 76,930 horsepower 
of compression. Southern states that a portion of the new horsepower 
will replace seven existing compressor units at two compressor stations 
that have become physically deteriorated and/or obsolete to the extent 
that their replacement is deemed necessary to insure the safe, 
reliable, and efficient operation of Southern's pipeline system. 
Accordingly, the loop pipeline will be added at twelve locations on 
Southern's South System and will be 99.8 percent co-located within and 
along Southern's existing rights-of-way. Southern states that the 
construction will be undertaken in two phases, with a target in-service 
date for Phase I of June 1, 2003, and for Phase II of May 1, 2004, and 
Southern estimates the total cost of the proposed facilities to be 
$245.5 million.
    Any questions regarding this application should be directed to R. 
David Hendrickson, Associate General Counsel, at (205) 325-7114, 
Southern Natural Gas Company, Post Office Box 2563, Birmingham, Alabama 
35202-2563.
    There are two ways to become involved in the Commission's review of 
this project. First, any person wishing to obtain legal status by 
becoming a party to the proceedings for this project should, on or 
before November 1, 2001, file with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, a motion to 
intervene in accordance with the requirements of the Commission's Rules 
of Practice and Procedure (18 CFR 385.214 or 385.211) and the 
Regulations under the NGA (18 CFR 157.10). A person obtaining party 
status will be placed on the service list maintained by the Secretary 
of the Commission and will receive copies of all documents filed by the 
applicant and by all other parties. A party must submit 14 copies of 
filings made with the Commission and must mail a copy to the applicant 
and to every other party in the proceeding. Only parties to the 
proceeding can ask for court review of Commission orders in the 
proceeding.
    However, a person does not have to intervene in order to have 
comments considered. The second way to participate is by filing with 
the Secretary of the Commission, as soon as possible, an original and 
two copies of comments in support of or in opposition to this project. 
The Commission will consider these comments in determining the 
appropriate action to be taken, but the filing of a comment alone will 
not serve to make the filer a party to the proceeding. The Commission's 
rules require that persons filing comments in opposition to the project 
provide copies of their protests only to the party or parties directly 
involved in the protest.
    Persons who wish to comment only on the environmental review of 
this project should submit an original and two copies of their comments 
to the Secretary of the Commission. Environmental commenters will be 
placed on the Commission's environmental mailing list, will receive 
copies of the environmental documents, and will be notified of meetings 
associated with the Commission's environmental review process. 
Environmental commenters will not be required to serve copies of filed 
documents on all other parties. However, the non-party commenters will 
not receive copies of all documents filed by other parties or issued by 
the Commission (except for the mailing of environmental documents 
issued by the Commission) and will not have the right to seek court 
review of the Commission's final order.
    The Commission may issue a preliminary determination on non-
environmental issues prior to the completion of its review of the 
environmental aspects of the project. This preliminary determination 
typically considers such issues as the need for the project and its 
economic effect on existing customers of the applicant, on other 
pipelines in the area, and on landowners and communities. For example, 
the Commission considers the extent to which the applicant may need to 
exercise eminent domain to obtain rights-of-way for the proposed 
project and balances that against the non-environmental benefits to be 
provided by the project. Therefore, if a person has comments on 
community and landowner impacts from this proposal, it is important 
either to file comments or to intervene as early in the process as 
possible.
    Comments, protests and interventions may be filed electronically 
via the Internet in lieu of paper. See, 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and 
the instructions on the Commission's web site under the ``e-Filing'' 
link.
    If the Commission decides to set the application for a formal 
hearing before an Administrative Law Judge, the Commission will issue 
another notice describing that process. At the end of the Commission's 
review process, a

[[Page 52760]]

final Commission order approving or denying a certificate will be 
issued.

David P. Boergers,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-26102 Filed 10-16-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P