[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 237 (Monday, December 10, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63693-63695]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30401]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-25-000]


Copiah County Storage Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Copiah Storage 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 Copiah Storage Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Copiah County 
Storage Company (Copiah) in Copiah County, Mississippi.\1\ Copiah 
proposes to construct a compressor station, a natural gas storage 
cavern, approximately 635 feet of 20-inch-diameter pipeline, and up to 
five freshwater withdrawal/brine injection well sites. 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\ Copiah's application was filed with the Commissiion 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

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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. Therefore, if easement negotiations fail to produce an 
agreement, the pipeline company could initiate condemnation proceedings 
in accordance with state law.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice Copiah provided to affected landowners. This fact sheet 
addresses a number of typically asked questions, including the use of 
eminent domain and how to participate in the Commission's proceedings. 
It is available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site 
(www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Copiah wants to provide a storage facility that would act as a 
reservoir for a supply of natural gas to the Mississippi regional area. 
The proposed project would meet load swings brought about by gas-fired 
electric generation and the peak winter heating load and growth of 
local distribution companies for rapid fuel delivery services to nearby 
pipeline systems. The storage facility would have an initial natural 
gas storage working capacity of approximately 3.3 billion cubic feet 
(Bcf) with 300,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) of deliverability 
capability and 150,000 Dth/d of injection capability. Specifically, 
Copiah seeks authority to construct and operate:
     A single 3.3 Bcf capacity gas storage cavern extending 
approximately 5,500 feet below the ground surface within an underground 
salt dome;
     13,350 horsepower (hp) of gas engine-driven compression at 
the new Copiah Storage Project compressor station to provide 
compression for injection and withdrawal of natural gas from the gas 
storage cavern;
     Approximately 635 feet of 20-inch-diameter pipeline from 
the compressor station to the storage cavern wellhead; and
     Up to five well sites consisting of a freshwater 
withdrawal well and brine injection well at each site.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in 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 on the 
Commission's Web site at the ``RIMS'' link or from the Commission's 
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 208-1371. For instructions 
on connecting to RIMS refer to the last page of this notice. Copies 
of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this notice in 
the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Approximately 730 acres have been identified by Copiah as the 
project area. However, only 59 acres would be disturbed by construction 
and 53 acres would be necessary for the operation of the proposed 
project.

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\3\ 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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    \3\ ``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:
     Geology and soils
     Land use
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
     Endangered and threatened species
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Air quality and noise
     Cultural resources
    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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions in the public participation section below.

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 Copiah. This preliminary list 
of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     The project would be located in a United States 
Environmental Protection Agency-designated sole-source aquifer area, 
the Southern Hills Regional Aquifer System.
     The project would require approximately 34 million barrels 
of non-potable freshwater for cavern solution leaching. The rate of 
withdrawal from each well would be approximately 600 to 1,000 gallons 
per minute (gpm). Brine resulting from cavern leaching would be 
disposed of by injection into disposal wells.

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), 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 an original and two copies of your letter to: 
Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 First St., NE., 
Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas/
Hydro.
     Reference Docket No. CP02-025-000.
     Submit 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

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site at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' link and link to the 
User's Guide. Before you can file comments you will need to create an 
account which can be created by clicking on ``Login to File'' and then 
``New User Account.''
    Everyone who responds to this notice or comments throughout the EA 
process will be retained on our mailing list. 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 3). If you do not 
return the Information Request, you will be taken off the 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 mail 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).\4\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \4\ 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. 01-30401 Filed 12-7-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P