[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 237 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63695-63696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30400]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP01-433-000]


Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Station 35 Clean 
Air Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

December 4, 2001.
    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 Station 35 Clean Air Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Transcontinental 
Gas Pipe Line Corporation (Transco) in Harris County, Texas.\1\ These 
facilities would consist of 14,910 horsepower (hp) of compression at an 
existing compressor station. The 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\ Transco'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 you might have also received previous 
notification from Transco. FERC regulations require the applicant to 
notify all landowners within one-half mile of the compressor station. 
However, the proposed facility modifications will take place entirely 
within Transco property and no additional land will be required for 
this project.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Transco proposes to modify its existing compressor site at 
Compressor Station 35 in Harris County, Texas to comply with Clean Air 
Act Amendments (CAA) of 1990 and the Texas Natural Resource 
Conservation Commission for the Houston-Galveston Intrastate Air 
Quality Control Region. To reduce emissions and comply with the CAA, 
Transco proposes to:
     Install 2 electric motors driving two 7455 HP centrifugal 
compressors and associated equipment;
     Remove 4 existing gas-fired compressors;
     Construct a new 75 feet x 110 feet compressor building, a 
35 feet x 72 feet auxiliary building, a 120 feet x 200 feet electrical 
auxiliary building and a 16 feet  x  50 feet switchgear station;
     Demolish the old compressor building and remove associated 
equipment; and;
     Modify existing yard piping.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 4 acres 
of land in a completely fenced site that has been previously disturbed.

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 
\2\ 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.
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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under these general 
headings:

[[Page 63696]]

    1. Geology and soils.
    2. Land use.
    3. Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
    4. Cultural resources.
    5. Vegetation and wildlife.
    6. Air quality and noise.
    7. Endangered and threatened species.
    8. Hazardous waste.
    9. Public safety.
    10. Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
    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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section beginning on page 4.

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.
    11. Air quality effects.
    12. Noise impact.
    13. Land-use compatibility.

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:
    14 Send an original and two copies of your letter to: Secretary, 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE., Room 1A, 
Washington, DC 20426.
    15. Label one copy of the comments for the attention of (Gas/Hydro 
Branch).
    16. Reference Docket No. CP01-433-000.
    17. Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, 
DC on or before (January 15, 2002).
    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 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 2). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be 
removed from the environmental mailing list.
    Due to current events, we cannot guarantee that we will receive 
mail on a timely basis from the U.S. Postal Service, and we do not know 
how long this situation will continue. However, we continue to receive 
filings from private delivery services, including messenger services in 
a reliable manner. The Commission encourages electronic filing of any 
comments or interventions or protests to this proceeding. We will 
include all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in 
our environmental analysis of this project.

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).\3\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \3\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
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    Affected landowners and parties with environmental concerns may be 
granted intervenor status upon showing good cause by stating that they 
have a clear and direct interest in this proceeding which would not be 
adequately represented by any other parties. You do not need intervenor 
status to have your environmental comments considered.
    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088 or on the 
FERC Web site (www.ferc.gov) 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 Web site provides 
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such 
as orders, notices, and rulemakings. From the FERC Internet Web site, 
click on the ``CIPS'' link, select ``Docket #'' from the CIPS menu, and 
follow the instructions. For assistance with access to CIPS, the CIPS 
helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2474.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-30400 Filed 12-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P