[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 223 (Wednesday, November 19, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65266-65268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E3-00301]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP04-4-000]


Lake Charles Express, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Lake Charles Express Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 12, 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 Lake Charles Express Project 
(LCE Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by 
Lake Charles Express, LLC (LCE) in Beauregard, Allen, Jefferson Davis, 
and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana.\1\ These facilities would consist of 
about 38.5 miles of various diameter pipeline. 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\ LCE'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 LCE 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

    LCE wants to expand the capacity of its facilities in Louisiana to 
transport an additional 1,200,000 million British thermal units per day 
of natural gas to eight gas transmission companies. LCE seeks authority 
to:
    [sbull] Construct an interconnection with the facilities of 
Trunkline LNG Company, LLC (TLNG) at the TLNG import terminal in 
Calcasieu Parish consisting of two tap valves, with meter and 
regulation facilities (M&Rs);
    [sbull] Construct 22.84 miles of 36-inch-diameter pipeline (called 
the South Segment) from TLNG's facilities to Texas Eastern's 
Transmission, LP's (Texas Eastern's) Iowa Gas Plant in Jefferson Davis 
Parish;
    [sbull] Construct 15.01 miles of 30-inch-diameter pipeline, (called 
the ``North Segment'') from the Iowa Gas Plant to an interconnection 
with the facilities of Texas Eastern's Gillis Compressor Station in 
Beauregard Parish;
    [sbull] Construct five M&Rs along the South Segment to provide one 
interconnection with with Sabine Gas Transmission Company (Sabine Gas); 
two interconnections with Cantera Natural Gas, Inc (Cantera); one 
interconnection with Calcasieu Gas Gathering System (Calcasieu Gas) in 
Calcasieu Parish; and an interconnection with Texas Eastern where the 
proposed pipeline enters the Iowa Gas Plant;
    [sbull] Construct six M&Rs and associated facilities along the 
North Segment to provide interconnections with Texas Eastern where the 
proposed pipeline exits the Iowa Gas Plant and including

[[Page 65267]]

a bypass regulator; Texas Gas Transmission Corporation (Texas Gas); 
Florida Gas Transmission Company (Florida Gas); and Tennessee Gas 
Pipeline Company (Tennessee Gas) in Jefferson Davis Parish; 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation (Transco) in Beauregard 
Parish; and Texas Eastern at the Gillis Compressor Station; and
    [sbull] Construct two parallel 0.33-mile 16-inch-diameter lateral 
pipelines extending from the South Segment to the Cantera facility in 
Calcasieu Parish; and appurtenant facilities.
    The 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 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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Nonjurisdictional Facilities

    Non-jurisdictional facilities that will be built as a result of the 
proposed LCE Project are limited to taps and connecting piping that may 
be installed by Sabine Gas, Cantera, and Calcasieu Gas to connect the 
M&R facilities to their respective pipelines. LCE states these non-
jurisdictional facilities will generally include less than 250 feet of 
small diameter pipeline for each connection.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 461.8 
acres of land. Following construction, about 227.5 acres would be 
maintained as new pipeline right-of-way or aboveground facility sites. 
The remaining 184.3 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:

[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
[sbull] Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands

    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 LCE. This preliminary list of 
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    [sbull] Two federally listed endangered or threatened species may 
occur in the proposed project area.
    [sbull] A total of 29.56 acres of agricultural land, that includes 
prime farmland soils, would be permanently affected.
    [sbull] Cultural resources may be affected in the project area.
    [sbull] The Calcasieu River, designated as a state natural and 
scenic river by the Louisiana Natural and Scenic River System, would 
involve a 4,316 foot-long crossing using the horizontal directional 
drilling method.
    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. 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 2.
    [sbull] Reference Docket No. CP04-4-000.
    [sbull] Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before December 19, 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.''
    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.
    In addition, the Commission Staff will hold a Scoping Meeting for 
the project on December 10, 2003, at 7 p.m. at the following address: 
Iowa City Hall, 115

[[Page 65268]]

N. Thompson Street, Iowa, Louisiana 70647.

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 with eLibrary, the eLibrary helpline can be reached at 1-
866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at [email protected]. The 
eLibrary 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 www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.
    Finally, public meetings or site visits will be posted on the 
Commission's calendar located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E3-00301 Filed 11-18-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P