[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 53 (Thursday, March 18, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12848-12850]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-612]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-57-000]


Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc.; Notice of Intent to 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Abandonment of the 
Carter-Waters Pipeline and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

March 12, 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 a project involving the 
abandonment of 3.15 miles of the Carter-Waters 4-inch-diameter pipeline 
XS-6 and appurtenances and one domestic customer tap by Southern Star 
Central Gas Pipeline, Inc. (Southern Star) in Platte County, 
Missouri.\1\ 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\ Southern Star'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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    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 Southern Star 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

    Southern Star seeks authority to abandon in place and reclaim 
approximately 3.15 miles of the Carter-Waters 4-inch-diameter pipeline 
XS-6 and appurtenances and one domestic customer tap in Platte County, 
Missouri. About 1.53 miles would be removed and sold for scrap. The 
remaining 1.62 miles would be abandoned in place. The section of 
pipeline proposed to be abandoned lies parallel to Southern Star's 
existing Dearborn 6-inch pipeline XS-7 and is in Platte County, 
Missouri.
    Abandonment in place is proposed for areas where Southern Star 
believes land restoration to original condition would be difficult, 
e.g., pasture, terraces, creeks, and heavily wooded areas. These 
sections would be cut and capped causing minimal ground disturbance and 
minor interruption of land use. The remaining sections of the pipeline 
would be reclaimed and the land would be backfilled and restored to its 
prior condition. To facilitate pipe removal, Southern Star would 
utilize the existing right-of-way, which is 66 feet wide. Approximately 
12.24 acres of right-of-way would be temporarily affected.
    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 ``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 Abandonment

    To facilitate pipe removal, Southern Star plans to utilize the 
existing right-of-way, which is 66 feet wide. After abandonment, either 
in place or by removal, Southern Star would relinquish the right-of-way 
to the landowner. Pipeline abandoned in place would also become the 
property of the landowner.
    Temporary access to the right-of-way would be via field roads and 
existing rock paved roads along the first segment of the pipeline to be 
removed. Two options for access are proposed. Option 1 would affect 
0.67 acre and Option 2 would affect 0.79 acre. A total of approximately 
12.24 acres of right-of-way would be temporarily affected by the 
project.

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 staff 
requests public comments on the scope

[[Page 12849]]

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 activities associated with the removal of the pipeline 
under these general headings:

     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise.

    We will also evaluate possible abandonment 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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    One of the issues identified that we think deserves attention based 
on a preliminary review of the abandonment of facilities and the 
environmental information provided by Southern Star is the concern 
expressed by a landowner about abandoning line segments in place at 
stream crossings. In order to avoid disturbance of stream banks and the 
associated riparian zone and to eliminate the need for stream bank 
restoration, Southern Star plans to abandon the pipeline in place where 
it crosses stream channels.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commenter, 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:

     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. CP04-57-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received 
in Washington, DC on or before April 12, 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.

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

    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 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/

[[Page 12850]]

EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Linda Mitry,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-612 Filed 3-17-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P