[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 126 (Monday, July 1, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44192-44194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-16483]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-381-000]


Texas Eastern Transmission, LP; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed M-1 Expansion Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

June 25, 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 M-1 Expansion Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Texas Eastern 
Transmission, LP (Texas Eastern) in Monroe, Hinds, Copiah, Amite, 
Franklin, and Madison Counties, Mississippi, Colbert County, Alabama, 
and Giles and Wilson Counties, Tennessee.\1\ These facilities would 
consist of about 33 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline and 28,000 
horsepower (hp) of additional compression. 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\ Texas Eastern'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. 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 Texas Eastern 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 website (http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Texas Eastern wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in 
Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee to transport an additional 197,147 
dekatherm units per day of natural gas to two distribution companies 
and one electric generation plant. Texas Eastern seeks authority to 
construct and operate facilities in three Phases, as described below:

 Phase I Facilities (November 1,2003)

    1. Construct part of the Union Church Discharge Loop, about 8.0 
miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities in Hinds 
and Copiah Counties, Mississippi.
    2. Modify the Egypt Compressor Station in Monroe County, 
Mississippi by installing a mechanical variable-speed drive (VSD) in 
place of the existing conventional gearbox on each of the two existing 
15,000 hp electric motor-driven compressor units. The uprate would 
result in a 20,000 hp rating for each compressor unit.
    3. Modify the Barton Compressor Station in Colbert County, Alabama 
by installing a mechanical VSD in place of the existing conventional 
gearbox on the existing 15,000 hp electric motor driven compressor 
unit. The uprate would result in a 20,000 hp rating for the compressor 
unit.
    4. Modify the Gladeville Compressor Station in Wilson County, 
Tennessee by uprating the existing 15,000 hp motor to 20,000 hp. 
Various appurtant facilities would be replaced for more efficient and 
quieter options.
    5. Provide service to City of Cartersville and winter service to 
Carolina Power & Light Company.

 Phase II Facilities (April 1, 2004)

    6. Construct remaining Union Church Discharge Loop, about 6.7 miles 
of 36-inch diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities in Copiah 
County, Mississippi.
    7. Construct the St. Francisville Discharge Loop, which consists of 
4.5 miles of 36-inch diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities in 
Amite and Franklin Counties, Mississippi.
    8. Uprate six existing 2,500 hp electric motor driven compressor 
units to 3,000 hp at the Barton Compressor Station. Various appurtenant 
facilities would be

[[Page 44193]]

replaced for more efficient and quieter options.
    9. Modify the Mount Pleasant Compressor Station in Giles County, 
Tennessee by installing a mechanical VSD in place of the existing 
conventional gearbox on the existing 15,000 hp electric motor driven 
compressor unit. The uprate would result in a 20,000 hp rating for the 
compressor unit.
    10. Provide summer service to Carolina Power & Light Company.

 Phase III Facilities (November 1, 2004)

    11. Construct the Clinton Discharge Loop, which consists of 12.8 
miles of 36-inch-wide diameter pipeline and appurtenant facilities in 
Madison County, Mississippi.
    12. Provide service to Choctaw Gas Generation, LLC
    Choctaw Gas Generation, LLC (Choctaw) has been identified as a 
nonjurisdictional facility associated with the M-1 Expansion Project. 
The Choctaw facility would be comprised of one steam-driven, and two 
gas-fired electric generating turbines.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 
1.\2\ If you are interested in obtaining detailed maps of a specific 
portion of the project, send in your request using the form in Appendix 
3.
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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 website 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 536.4 
acres of land. Following construction, about 93.5 acres would be 
required as new permanent right-of-way in Mississippi. No new permanent 
right-of-way would be required in Alabama or Tennessee. The remaining 
442.9 acres of land would be restored and allowed to revert to its 
former use.

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. This process is referred to as ``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:

a. Geology and soils
b. Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
c. Vegetation and wildlife
d. Endangered and threatened species
e. Cultural resources
f. Land use
g. Air quality and noise
h. 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 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 Texas Eastern. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
    a. 11 federally listed endangered or threatened species may occur 
in the proposed project area.
    b. 14 perennial streams would be crossed, one of which is 
considered impaired by EPA classification standards.
    c. About 4 miles of the 4.5 mile St. Francisville Discharge Loop 
would traverse through the Homochitto National Forest.
    d. Eight residences are within 50-feet of the proposed construction 
right-of-way.

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 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: Magalie 
R. Salas, 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 Branch.
     Reference Docket No. CP02-381-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before July 26, 2002.
    Please note that we are continuing to experience delays in mail 
deliveries from the U.S. Postal Service. As a result, we will include 
all comments that we receive within a reasonable time frame in our 
environmental analysis of this project. However, the Commission 
encourages electronic filing of any comments or interventions or 
protests to this proceeding. 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 a free account which can be 
created by clicking on ``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.''
    We might mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in 
receiving it, please return the Information Request in Appendix 4. If 
you do not return the Information Request, you will be taken off the 
mailing list.
    On July 8-9, 2002, the staff of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP) 
will conduct a pre-certification site visit of Texas Eastern's M-1 
Expansion Project

[[Page 44194]]

in Amite, Franklin, Hinds, Copiah, and Madison Counties, Mississippi. 
The project area will be inspected by automobile and on foot, as 
appropriate. Representatives of Texas Eastern will accompany the OEP 
staff. All interested parties may attend. Those planning to attend must 
provide their own transportation. Contact the Commission's Office of 
External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC if you are interested in attending 
the visit.

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.
    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.

Environmental Mailing List

    This notice is being sent to individuals, organizations, and 
government entities interested in and/or potentially affected by the 
proposed project. It is also being sent to all identified potential 
right-of-way grantors. By this notice we are also asking governmental 
agencies, especially those in Appendix 3, to express their interest in 
becoming cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA.

Additional Information

    Additional information about the proposed project is available from 
the Commission's Office of External Affairs at (202) 208-1088 (direct 
line) or you can call the FERC operator at 1-800-847-8885 and ask for 
External Affairs. Information is also available on the FERC website 
(http://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.\4\
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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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    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 rulemakings. 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 helpline can be reached at (202) 208-2222.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-16483 Filed 6-28-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P