[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 155 (Thursday, August 12, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 49890-49893]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1785]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP04-379-000, CP04-380-000, and CP04-381-000]


Pine Prairie Energy Center, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Pine Prairie Energy Center, 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Site Visit

August 6, 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 Pine Prairie Energy Center 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Pine Prairie 
Energy Center, LLC (Pine Prairie) in Evangeline, Acadia, and Rapides 
Parishes, Louisiana. These

[[Page 49891]]

facilities would consist of approximately 21.47 miles of new 24-inch 
gas pipeline, 3 underground gas storage caverns, a compressor station 
with 48,000 horsepower of compression, 6 pipeline meter facilities and 
7 pipeline interconnects. The 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 Pine Prairie 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

    Pine Prairie proposes to construct and operate the Pine Prairie 
Energy Center in Evangeline, Acadia, and Rapides Parishes, Louisiana. 
The proposal includes construction and operation of 3 solution-mined 
underground salt storage caverns, associated aboveground facilities, 
and connecting pipelines for the storage of up to 24.0 billion cubic 
feet (Bcf) of natural gas. The proposed and existing pipelines would 
connect the storage facility to ANR Pipeline Company, Florida Gas 
Transmission Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, Texas Eastern 
Transmission, L.P., Texas Gas Transmission LLC (Texas Gas) and 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation. Specifically, Pine Prairie 
seeks authority to construct and operate:
     A 60 acre gas storage site consisting of three underground 
salt dome storage caverns of 8 Bcf storage capacity each;
     A gas handling facility consisting of a compressor 
building with six 8,000 horsepower gas engine driven reciprocating 
compressors, dehydration facilities, and attendant control buildings 
and equipment;
     A brine disposal and raw water withdrawal site located on 
10 acres of land. The site will include 4 withdrawal wells to obtain 
water to solution mine the storage caverns and 4 injection wells to 
dispose of the brine;
     The Mid Pipeline Corridor, consisting of 6.36 miles of 
dual 24-inch natural gas pipeline originating from the Gas Handling 
Facility to the Chalk Gathering System, an existing 24-inch natural gas 
pipeline;
     A service corridor containing 1.92 miles of dual 16-inch 
water pipelines will be collocated between the Gas Handling Facility 
and the brine disposal and raw water disposal site;
     The North Pipeline Corridor, consisting of 17.80 miles of 
the Chalk system north of the Mid Pipeline Corridor and will extent 
through Evangeline Parish into Rapides Parish;
     The South Pipeline Corridor, consisting of 16.49 miles of 
the Chalk system south of the Mid Pipeline Corridor extending through 
Evangeline Parish into Acadia Parish which would be looped with the 
installation of 11.24 miles of 24-inch natural gas pipeline;
     The TGT Lateral Pipeline Corridor, extending from the 
South Pipeline Corridor to the Texas Gas Interconnect, consisting of 
0.7 mile of dual 24 inch natural gas pipeline;
     The East Lateral Pipeline Corridor, extending from the 
South Pipeline Corridor to the interconnect with Florida Gas 
Transmission, consisting of 3.17 miles of 24-inch natural gas pipeline; 
and
     A total of 6 meter stations would be constructed along 
with 7 pipeline interconnections and 5 contractor yards of 
approximately 10 acres each.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\ If you are interested in obtaining detailed maps of a specific 
portion of the project, send in your request using the form in appendix 
3.
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    \1\ 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 were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 383.1 
acres of land. Following construction, about 59.5 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites. The remaining 323.6 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 
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.
    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.
    In the EA we \2\ will discuss impacts that could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed project under these 
general headings:
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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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     Geology and soils.
     Land use.
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
     Cultural resources.
     Vegetation and wildlife.
     Air quality and noise.
     Endangered and threatened species.
     Hazardous waste.
     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate reasonable 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 are considered, please carefully follow the

[[Page 49892]]

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 Pine Prairie. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
     Brine disposal and raw water withdrawal from aquifers.
     Wetland impacts along the pipeline corridor.
     Air and noise quality impacts from operation of the 
compressor facility.
     Storage cavern and well casing integrity management.

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/EIS and considered by the 
Commission. You should focus on the potential environmental effects of 
the proposal, alternatives to the proposal (including alternative 
locations and 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 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP04-379-000, et al.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before September 7, 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.
    The environmental staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission 
will perform a site visit of the proposed facility locations. Anyone 
interested in participating in the field trip may attend, but they must 
provide their own transportation. The meeting location prior to the 
site visit is as follows:

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          Time/date             Meeting location     Facility locations
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9 a.m., Thursday, August 19,  The Pine Cone, 1017   Gas handling
 2004.                         Elm St., Pine         facility, brine
                               Prairie, LA 70576.    disposal and raw
                                                     water withdrawal
                                                     site, and Mid
                                                     Pipeline Corridor.
9 a.m., Friday, August 20,    The Pine Cone, 1017   East Lateral, TGT
 2004.                         Elm St., Pine         Lateral, Meter and
                               Prairie, LA 70576.    Regulator Sites.
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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 send one electronic copy (using the 
Commission's eFiling system) or 14 paper copies of any filing 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).\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. 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, please contact FERC Online Support at 
[email protected] or toll free at 1-866-208-3676, or for TTY, 
contact (202) 502-8659.
    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/

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EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1785 Filed 8-11-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P