[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 116 (Tuesday, June 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35877-35879]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-15169]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP03-300-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Laurel Storage 
Field Pipeline Abandonment and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

June 10, 2003.
    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 Laurel Storage Field Pipeline 
Abandonment proposed by Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation 
(Columbia) in Hocking County, Ohio.\1\ Columbia proposes to abandon in 
place approximately 1.3 miles of 12-inch-diameter pipeline that is no 
longer in use. The one storage well that was connected to the pipe 
segment proposed for abandonment was connected to a short crossover 
line built in 2002 pursuant to Columbia's Blanket Certificate. 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\ Columbia'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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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Columbia wants to abandon certain facilities in Hocking County, 
Ohio. Columbia seeks authority to abandon:
    [sbull] Approximately 1.3 miles of 12-inch-diameter pipeline, in 
place;
    [sbull] Remove three service tap risers from previously relocated 
residential taps;
    [sbull] Remove the road casing and carrier pipe segment under State 
Route 374; and
    [sbull] Cut and cap each end of the abandoned pipe segment.
    The general 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 of all appendices, other 
than appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's Web site 
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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[[Page 35878]]

Land Requirements for Construction

    Abandonment of the proposed facilities would require disturbance of 
about 0.02 acre of land. Three small dig-outs (4 x 4 x 4 feet each) are 
proposed to remove risers from previously relocated residential taps. 
The road casing and carrier pipe segment under and across State Route 
374 would be removed, requiring two disturbance areas of 40 x 10 x 4 
feet and 15 x 10 x 4 feet. The line would be cut and capped at each end 
of the abandonment, requiring two disturbance areas of 10 x 10 x 10 
feet each. The 0.02 acre of land would be restored and allowed to 
revert to its former use. Columbia does not propose to abandon the 
right-of-way.

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:
    [sbull] Geology and soils
    [sbull] land use
    [sbull] Water resources and fisheries
    [sbull] cultural resources
    [sbull] Vegetation and wildlife
    [sbull] air quality and noise
    [sbull] Endangered and threatened species
    [sbull] Public safety
    We will not discuss impacts to the following resource areas since 
they are not present in the project area, or would not be affected by 
the proposed facilities.

    [sbull] Wetlands
    [sbull] Hazardous waste

    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.

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, 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:
    [sbull] 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.
    [sbull] Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 3.
    [sbull] Reference Docket No. CP03-300-000.
    [sbull] Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before July 10, 2003.
    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 Wb 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 may mail the EA for comment. If you are interested in receiving 
it, 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 right-of-way 
grantors. By this notice we are also asking governmental agencies 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 (http://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

[[Page 35879]]

assistance, contact FERC Online Support at [email protected] 
or toll-free at (866)208-3676, or for TTY, contact (202)502-8659. The 
FERRIS link on the FERC Internet Web site also provides access to the 
texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such as orders, 
notices, and rulemakings.
    In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you to keep track of all formal issuances 
and submittals in specific dockets. This can reduce the amount of time 
you spend researching proceedings by automatically providing you with 
notification of these filings, document summaries and direct links to 
the documents. Go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-15169 Filed 6-16-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P