[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 200 (Thursday, October 16, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59604-59605]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E3-00065]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP03-342-000]


Discovery Gas Transmission, LLC; Notice of Intent to Prepare An 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Market Expansion Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

October 8, 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 Market Expansion Project 
(Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by 
Discovery Gas Transmission, LLC (Discovery) in LaFourche and Terrebone 
Parishes, Louisiana.\1\ These facilities would consist of construction 
of about 2.6 miles of various diameter pipeline, an interconnection 
facility, related metering and pressure regulation facilities and the 
purchase of approximately 32 miles of existing pipeline from DPH, Inc 
and Discovery Producer Services, LLC (DPS). 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\ Discovery'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 Discovery 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 (http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Discovery proposes to construct, install operate and maintain 
pipelines and meter stations at four different sites in Lafourche and 
Terrebone Parish, Louisiana. Discovery states that it proposes to 
acquire approximately 31.5 miles of existing pipeline (line 40E) from 
DPH, Inc., of which 22.8 miles will be used to provide the necessary 
interconnections, acquire approximately 0.4 miles of existing pipeline 
from DPS, and abandon approximately 8.8 miles of 20-inch pipeline.
    Discovery would install the following facilities:
    [sbull] 735 feet of 20-inch diameter pipeline from the existing 40E 
pipeline to the existing Tennessee platform located in Old Lady Lake in 
Terrebone Parish Louisiana. The interconnect construction would require 
exposing and lifting 1000 feet of the existing 40E pipeline.
    [sbull] Installation of a new 40-foot by 40-foot meter platform at 
the 40E pipeline near Point Au Chien, in Terrebone Parish Louisiana.
    [sbull] Installation of approximately 2.1 miles of 20-inch diameter 
pipeline running from the 40E pipeline to a new 40-foot by 40-foot 
platform near Isle de Jean Charles to connect with the existing 
Columbia Gulf Pipeline.
    [sbull] Installation of 1840 feet of new 20-inch pipeline near 
Larose, in Lafourche Parish Louisiana.
    [sbull] Construction of a new meter station near Thibodaux, in 
LaFourche Parish Louisiana along with 150 feet of interconnection 
pipeline to deliver to the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation's 
system.
    [sbull] Discovery also proposes to abandon approximately 8.8 miles 
of currently decommissioned 20-inch diameter 40E pipeline from the 
current Old Lady Lake Platform south to the Lake Barre platform in the 
Caillou Island Field. A 20-inch diameter weld cap could be installed 
after the introduction of a nitrogen gas blanket in the line.
    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 of all appendices, other 
than appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's website at 
the ``eLibrary'' 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 
eLibrary 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 20.8 
acres of land. Following construction, about 11.2 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The remaining 9.6 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

[[Page 59605]]

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, fisheries, and wetlands
[sbull] cultural resources
[sbull] vegetation and wildlife
[sbull] air quality and noise
[sbull] endangered and threatened species
[sbull] hazardous waste
[sbull] 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.

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/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:
    [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. CP03-342-000.
    [sbull] Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before November 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 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 on-line.
    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 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 (http://www.ferc.gov) using the eLibrary link. 
Click on the eLibrary link, click on ``General Search'' and 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, please contact 1-866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at 
[email protected]. The eLibrary 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.
    In addition, the Commission now offers a free service called 
eSubscription which allows you too 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. E3-00065 Filed 10-15-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P