[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 8, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62713-62714]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-25541]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP02-420-000]


Red Lake Gas Storage, L.P.; Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Red Lake Gas Storage Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

October 1, 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 Red Lake Gas Storage Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Red Lake Gas 
Storage, L.P. (RLGS) in Mohave County, Arizona.\1\ These facilities 
would consist of: 2 underground salt caverns, about 52 miles of various 
diameter pipeline, 34,000 horsepower (hp) of compression, and 
appurtenant gas storage facilities. 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\ RLGS' 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 RLGS representative about the acquisition of an easement to 
construct, operate, and maintain the proposed facilities. RLGS 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, RLGS 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 RLGS 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

    RLGS proposes to construct the underground gas storage facilities 
in Mohave County, Arizona to provide firm and interruptible gas storage 
and hub services in interstate commerce. RLGS seeks authority to 
construct and operate:
    1. Two subsurface solution-mined salt caverns for gas storage;
    2. 31.0 miles of 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline with a 
collocated fiber optic cable;
    3. 4.7 miles of 6-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline;
    4. 11.5 miles of 18-inch-diameter brine disposal pipeline;
    5. 4.7 miles of 16-inch-diameter raw-water supply pipeline;
    6. four raw water supply wells;
    7. four brine disposal wells;
    8. a 25,000-horsepower (hp) gas storage field compressor station;
    9. a gas dehydration system;
    10. a 4.9-mile-long access road;
    11. electric power generators; and
    12. an interconnecting facility containing a meter station, a 
9,000-hp compressor station, and 18-inch-diameter interconnecting 
pipelines to El Paso Natural Gas Company (0.3-mile-long), Transwestern 
Pipeline Company (0.2-mile-long), and Questar Southern Trails Pipeline 
Company (0.4-mile-long).
    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 ``FERRIS'' link or from the Commission's 
Public Reference and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE, 
Washington, DC 20426, or call (202) 502-8371. For instructions on 
connecting to FERRIS 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 746.9 
acres of land. Following construction, about 414.3 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites and permanent right-of-
way. The remaining 332.6 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:

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

[[Page 62714]]

    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 RLGS. This preliminary list 
of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    Impact on habitats unique to ephemeral waterbodies;
    Water use and brine disposal; and
    Impact on protected species and/or Federal Species of Concern (SC) 
including:

Plants--Parish's phacelia (SC), desert monopod, and three-hearts;
Birds--Loggerhead shrike (SC), western burrowing owl, Swainson's hawk;
Mammals--sensitive bat species; and
Reptiles/Amphibians--Sonoran desert tortoise, chuckwalla, and rosy boa

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/or 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.
    Reference Docket No. CP02-420-000.
    Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC 
on or before October 31, 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 
strongly 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.''
    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 4). 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.

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 project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC or on the 
FERC Internet Web site (www.ferc.gov) using the FERRIS link. Click on 
the FERRIS link, enter the docket number excluding the last three 
digits in the Docket Number field. Be sure you have selected an 
appropriate date range. For assistance with FERRIS, the FERRIS helpline 
can be reached at (202) 502-8222, TTY (202) 502-8659. The FERRIS link 
on the FERC Internet website also provides access to the texts of 
formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, notices, and 
rulemakings.

Linwood A. Watson, Jr.,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-25541 Filed 10-7-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P