[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41247-41248]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1500]



[[Page 41247]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-114-000]


Compass Pass Pipeline LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Impact Assessment for the Proposed Compass Pass Pipeline 
Project and Notice of Site Visit

June 30, 2004.
    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) will 
participate in the preparation of an environmental impact assessment 
(EIS) that will discuss the environmental impacts of the Compass Port 
deepwater port and the associated Compass Pass Pipeline Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Compass Pass 
Pipeline LLC (Compass Pass) in Mobile County, Alabama.\1\ These 
facilities would consist of about 5 miles of onshore 36-inch-diameter 
pipeline. The onshore portion of the pipeline is the only part of the 
project under FERC jurisdiction. This EIS will be used by the 
Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether its 
portion of the project is in the public convenience and necessity.
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    \1\ ANR'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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    On June 25, 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) issued a notice of 
intent in the Federal Register to prepare an EIS for the Compass Port 
deepwater port, notice of public meeting, and request for public 
comments. Compass Port includes the deepwater port liquefied natural 
gas (LNG) facility located 26 miles offshore, 26 miles of 36-inch-
diameter pipeline, and the Compass Pass Pipeline. Compass Pass, a 
wholly owned subsidiary of ConocoPhillips Company (Conoco Phillips), 
filed an application on March 29, 2004, with the U.S. Department of 
Transportation's Maritime Administration (Maritime Administration) for 
construction and operation of the Compass Port deepwater port and 
associated Compass Pass Pipeline. Pursuant to the Deepwater Port Act of 
1974, as amended, jurisdiction over deepwater natural gas ports is 
vested in the Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration 
and the Department of Homeland Security. The USCG is preparing an EIS, 
as the lead agency, for the entire project including the onshore 
Compass Pass Pipeline. The FERC, as a cooperating agency, will provide 
documentation and review to support the preparation of applicable 
sections of the USCG EIS.
    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 CompassPass 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

    Compass Pass wants to connect the Compass Port offshore pipeline to 
three downstream interstate natural pipelines to transport 
approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of regasified LNG from the 
Compass Port deepwater port. The Compass Port deepwater port would 
receive, store, and regasify LNG for transport to the combined 
offshore/onshore pipeline. Additional proposed facilities for the 
Compass Pass Pipeline include a valve station, a meter station, flow 
valves, a receiving station with pig receiver, two short 16-inch-
diameter laterals with meters and flow valves, and interconnect 
facilities to the three existing natural gas pipelines.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed onshore facilities would require about 
79 acres of land, of which 33 acres would be new permanent right-of-way 
(ROW) easement after construction. Virtually all construction would 
occur adjacent to previously disturbed ROW.

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\2\ 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 EIS on the 
important environmental issues. By this Notice of Intent, the 
Commission requests public comments on the scope of the onshore 
pipeline related issues the Commission is required to address in the 
EIS. All comments received are considered during the preparation of the 
EIS. 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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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    The EIS will contain evaluations of 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.
    To ensure your comments to the Commission are considered, please 
carefully follow the instructions in the public participation section 
beginning on the next page.

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 Compass Pass Pipeline. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis. The onshore pipeline would
     Cross seven waterways ranging in width from 5-22 feet;
     Disturb fifty-two acres of wetland, including coastal 
marsh habitat;
     Use water from local waterways and wetlands for 
hydrostatic testing; and
     Use four access roads.
    In addition, fourteen Federally threatened and endangered species 
may occur in the proposed project area.

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 EIS and considered by the Commission. 
You should focus on the potential environmental effects of the 
proposal, alternatives to the proposal, including alternative pipeline 
alignments, and measures to avoid or lessen

[[Page 41248]]

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. CP04-114-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before July 26, 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.
    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 3). If you do not return the Information Request, you will be 
taken off our mailing list.

Notice of Site Visit

    The USCG will conduct public meetings on July 12, 13, and 14, 2004, 
from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Dauphin Island, Alabama; Mobile, Alabama; and 
Pascagoula, Mississippi; respectively. Each meeting will consist of an 
informational open house from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. and a public scoping 
meeting from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. There will be a Commission representative 
at the meeting in Mobile.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the Commission's 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 1).\3\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
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    \3\ 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.

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 FERC Online Support 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/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1500 Filed 7-7-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P