[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 20 (Friday, January 30, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4505-4507]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-163]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP93-541-013]


Young Gas Storage Company, Ltd.; Notice of Intent to Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Young Storage Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 23, 2004.
    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 Young Storage Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Young Gas Storage 
Company, Ltd (Young) in Morgan County, Colorado.\1\ These facilities 
would consist of:
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    \1\ Young'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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     3 horizontally drilled injection/withdrawal 
wells (Wells 43, 44, and 45);
     Facilities associated with each well that 
include a surface wellhead and associated filters/separators, orifice 
meter, catalytic heater, and methanol injection/storage tanks with 
concrete footers;
     600 feet of 6-inch-diameter steel gas pipeline;
     1,090 feet of 4-inch-diameter steel gas 
pipeline;
     1,090 feet of 2-inch-diameter poly instrument 
pipeline; and
     1,090 feet of 2-inch-diameter fiberglass 
drainline 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.
    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 Young 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

    Young has analyzed the operation of the Young Storage Field and 
determined that water has been displaced and produced from the storage 
field during the 8 years of its operation. This has increased the pore 
space available for gas storage. The increased space has caused storage 
pressures to decrease below the pressure contemplated when the field 
was designed. The storage field has also expanded into areas that 
cannot be effectively drained by the existing wells. The reduced 
pressure and reservoir expansion have reduced deliverability from the 
field.
    Young wants to drill there injection/withdrawal wells to better 
access certain areas within the existing Young Storage Field. It would 
also construct pipeline and related facilities to connect these new 
wells to its existing storage field pipeline system. The storage 
capacity and withdrawal capability of the Young Storage Field would not 
be increased above the presently certificated volumes (10 billion cubic 
feet and 198,813 thousand cubic feet per day, respectively) by 
construction and operation of the proposed facilities. Young also 
proposes to expand the protection zone for the storage field.

[[Page 4506]]

    Young would also reclassify two existing injection/withdrawal wells 
(Wells 24 and 39) as observation wells.
    Young also proposes to conduct a reservoir testing program to 
evaluate the possibility of increasing gas deliverability from the 
storage field as it drills the proposed new injection/withdrawal wells.
    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 are available on the 
Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) at the 
``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission's Public Reference and 
Files Maintenance Branch at (202) 502-8371. For instructions on 
connecting to eLibrary refer to the last page of this notice.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 6.8 
acres of land. Following construction, about 2.2 acres would be 
maintained for operation of the new facilities. The remaining 4.6 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;
     Ground water;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species;
     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.
     Surface water;
     Wetlands;
     Fisheries;
     Residential areas;
     Federal, State, or local parks, forests, trails, 
scenic highways, wild and scenic rivers, nature preserves, wildlife 
refuges, wilderness areas, game management areas, or other designated 
natural, recreational, or scenic areas registered as natural landmarks;
     Native American reservations, or
     Coastal zone management areas.
    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 Young. This preliminary list 
of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     A total of 6.77 acres of agricultural land and 
pasture would be affected by the project.
     Three horizontally drilled wells would be 
constructed.

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 well 
locations and pipeline 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 Branch 2.
     Reference Docket No. CP93-541-013.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received 
in Washington, DC on or before February 23, 2004.
    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

[[Page 4507]]

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

    An effort is being made to send this notice to all individuals, 
organizations, and government entities interested in and/or potentially 
affected by the proposed project. This includes all landowners who are 
potential right-of-way grantors, whose property may be used temporarily 
for project purposes, or who own homes within distances defined in the 
Commission's regulations of certain aboveground facilities. 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 http://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/Event Calendar/
EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E4-163 Filed 1-29-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P