[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 29, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4249-4251]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-2092]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-57-000]


SCG Pipeline, Inc.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental 
Assessment for the Proposed SCG Pipeline Project and Request for 
Comments on Environmental Issues

January 23, 2002.
    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 SCG Pipeline Project involving 
construction and operation of facilities by SCG Pipeline, Inc. (SCG) in 
Chatham and Effingham Counties, Georgia and Jasper County, South 
Carolina.\1\ These facilities would consist of about 18.2 miles of 20-
inch-diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities. In addition, SCG 
seeks to acquire capacity in certain facilities owned by Southern 
Natural Gas Company (Southern). 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\ SCG'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

[[Page 4250]]

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 SCG provided to 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

    SCG proposes to construct and operate about 18.2 miles of 20-inch-
diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities extending from an 
interconnect with Southern's pipeline system in Port Wentworth, Georgia 
to a terminus in Jasper County, South Carolina. SCG also seeks 
authority to acquire capacity in Southern's existing 13.25-mile-long, 
30-inch-diameter twin pipelines which extend between Elba Island, 
Georgia and SCG's proposed interconnection at Port Wentworth, Georgia. 
SCG would construct and maintain meter stations at the interconnection 
with Southern's pipeline system in Port Wentworth, Georgia and at the 
pipeline terminus in Jasper County, South Carolina.
    The capacity of the SCG Pipeline Project would be 190,000 Mcf per 
day, and the primary source of natural gas would be imported liquefied 
natural gas (LNG) from the Elba Island LNG terminal in Savannah, 
Georgia. SCG's interconnection at Port Wentworth also provides the 
capability to receive up to 90,000 Mcf per day from Southern's Savannah 
Lateral in the event that Elba Island LNG supply is unavailable.
    The SCG Pipeline Project would interconnect with two 
nonjurisdictional projects at its proposed terminus in Jasper County, 
South Carolina: a new electric generation facility planned by South 
Carolina Electric & Gas Company (SCE&G) and an expansion and extension 
of an existing intrastate pipeline system planned by South Carolina 
Pipeline Corporation (SCPC). SCE&G's planned 875 megawatt electric 
generation facility is located about 5 miles north of Hardeeville, 
South Carolina. SCPC's planned 16- and 20-inch-diameter pipeline 
facilities would consist of 43 miles of loop on its existing system and 
39 miles of new pipeline. SCPC's 82-mile-long pipeline facilities would 
extend from the SCG Pipeline Project receipt point to an 
interconnection with SCPC's existing pipeline system in Dorchester 
County, South Carolina.
    The location of the SCG Pipeline 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

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 275.7 
acres of land for construction right-of-way, extra workspaces, and 
contractor yards. Following construction, about 107.2 acres would be 
maintained as permanent right-of-way and new aboveground facility 
sites. The remaining 168.5 acres of temporary workspace would be 
restored and allowed to revert to its former use.
    The nominal construction right-of-way for the pipeline would be 100 
feet wide, with 50 feet retained as permanent right-of-way. About 91 
percent of the pipeline route would parallel existing transportation or 
energy rights-of-way, and 50 feet of SCG's construction right-of-way 
would generally overlap these existing maintained rights

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
 Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
 Vegetation and wildlife
 Air quality and noise
 Land use
 Cultural resources
 Endangered and threatened species
 Public safety

    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 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 SCG. This preliminary list of 
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Twelve perennial waterbodies are crossed by the pipeline, 
including the Savannah River.
     About 49 acres of wetlands, including 33.4 acres of 
forested wetlands, are affected by construction of the pipeline.
     Eight single-family residences are within 50 feet of the 
proposed pipeline construction corridor.
    Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the 
impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities. 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.

[[Page 4251]]

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 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 an original and two copies of your letter to: Linwood 
A. Watson, Jr., Acting 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 
Gas 1, PJ-11.1.
     Reference Docket No. CP02-57-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before February 25, 2002.
    Comments may also 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 at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``e-Filing'' 
link and the 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.'' 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.
    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.

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. 02-2092 Filed 1-28-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P