[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 134 (Wednesday, July 14, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42152-42154]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1526]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-362-000]


Colorado Interstate Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Boehm Storage Field 
Abandonment and Conversion Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

July 8, 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 Boehm Storage Field 
Abandonment and Conversion Project involving abandonment, conversion, 
and/or reclassification of certain natural gas storage wells and 
gathering lines by Colorado Interstate Gas Company (CIG) in Morton 
County, Kansas.\1\ This notice

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explains the scoping process we \2\ will use to gather input from the 
public and interested agencies on the project. Your input will help us 
determine which issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on August 9, 2004.
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    \1\ CIG's application was filed with the Commission under 
Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
    \2\ ``We,'' ``us,'' ``our'' refer to the environmental staff of 
the Office of Energy Projects.
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    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a company representative about existing wells, or storage gathering 
pipelines. CIG proposes to abandon all affected gathering lines in 
place.
    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 CIG provided to landowners. This fact sheet addresses a 
number of typically asked questions, including 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

    CIG proposes to plug and abandon nine wells and to convert or 
reclassify an additional 12 wells within the Boehm Storage Field. These 
activities are necessary for CIG to comply with gas storage regulations 
adopted by the Kansas Corporation Commission (KCC) on July 1, 2002, and 
to allow CIG to operate the Boehm Storage Field on a more efficient 
basis. Specifically, CIG is required to obtain a Gas Storage Operating 
Permit for the Boehm Storage Field from the KCC. In order to comply 
with requirements of the permit, any well that does not demonstrate 
mechanical integrity must either be repaired or plugged and abandoned.
    Specifically, CIG proposes to plug and abandon the following wells 
for the reasons listed:
     Well Nos. 1, 11, 17, and 30, due to subsurface conditions, 
and in concert with the KCC's new regulations;
     Well Nos. 6, 18, 29, and 43. With the continued depletion 
of the Keyes Reservoir, these observation wells are no longer needed; 
and
     Well No. 38, designated as ``G'' observation well. This 
well is located at some distance from the lateral extent of the ``G'' 
storage zone in Boehm.
    In addition, CIG also proposes to:
     Convert and reclassify four Keyes observation wells (Well 
Nos. 25, 37, 39, and 42) into ``G'' observation wells;
     Convert and reclassify three ``G'' injection/withdrawal 
wells (Well Nos. 36, 44, and 47) and one Keyes observation well (Well 
No. 21) to ``G'' Reservoir observation wells; and
     Convert and reclassify three Keyes blowdown wells (Well 
Nos. 23, 26, and 34) as ``G'' injection/withdrawal wells; and
     Convert and reclassify one Keyes blowdown well (Well No. 
35) as a Keyes observation well.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 1.\3\
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    \3\ 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 
Room, 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 werre sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Proposed Activities

    The proposed activities would temporarily impact approximately 43.5 
acres, which includes a construction area of 300 feet by 300 feet (2.07 
acres) for each well. A significant portion of this area (43.0 acres) 
would be used for staging and work area purposes only. No grading or 
vegetation removal would be required. Approximately 0.4 acre would be 
permanently impacted by the proposed activities, which includes a 
bellhole of approximately 25 feet by 25 feet (0.02 acre) around each 
well.
    No new access roads or expansion of existing access roads would be 
required for project activities. No new permanent right-of-way, extra 
temporary work areas, or storage areas have been identified for 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 
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 of the issues to 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.
    In the EA, we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the proposed project under these general headings:
     Geology and soils.
     Water resources.
     Land use.
     Cultural resources.
     Vegetation and wildlife.
     Air quality and noise.
     Endangered and threatened species.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be included 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, 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 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP04-362-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before August 9, 2004.
    We will include all comments that we receive within a reasonable 
time frame in our environmental analysis of this project. To expedite 
our receipt and consideration of your comments, the Commission strongly 
encourages electronic submission of any comments on this project. 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 submit comments

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you will need to create a free account, which can be created by 
clicking on ``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.'' You will 
be asked to select the type of submission you are making. This 
submission is considered a ``Comment on Filing.''
    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

    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. 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 (3372) or on 
the FERC Internet website (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 (i.e., CP04-362). Be sure you have selected an appropriate date 
range. For assistance, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, 
contact (202) 502-8659. 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 rule makings.
    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. E4-1526 Filed 7-13-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P