[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 161 (Friday, August 20, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51663-51664]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E4-1870]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP04-346-000]


CenterPoint Energy--Mississippi River Transmission Corporation; 
Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the 
Proposed AmerenUE Pipeline Project and Request for Comments on 
Environmental Issues

August 13, 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 AmerenUE Pipeline Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by CenterPoint--
Mississippi River Transmission Corporation (MRT) in Madison and St. 
Clair Counties, Illinois. These facilities consist of about 3.6 miles 
of 20-inch-diameter pipeline lateral, a new meter station, and a 6,232-
horsepower (hp) compressor station. 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.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need To Know?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). This fact 
sheet addresses a number of typically asked questions, including how to 
participate in the Commission's proceedings.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    The proposed pipeline lateral (Line A-334) would extend from an 
interconnection with MRT's existing Alton Loop East Lateral Line at its 
Horseshoe Lake Terminal to the new meter station at Union's Venice 
Power Plant. The new meter station would be installed at the Venice 
Power Plant and would consist of a 2-inch mini-turbine and 10-inch 
ultrasonic meter installed on a prefabricated skid assembly complete 
with upstream and downstream block valves on each meter. The Horseshoe 
Lake Compressor Station would consist of four units with appurtenant 
facilities, to be installed within MRT's 5.7 acre Horseshoe Lake 
facility lot, where MRT's Alton Loop East Line and the new Line A-334 
would interconnect, and where a meter/regulator station currently 
exists.
    The general location of MRT's proposed facilities is shown on the 
map attached as appendix 1.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices, other 
than appendix 1 (map), 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

    About 51.1 acres of land would be affected during construction of 
this project. Upon completion of construction, about 25.4 acres would 
be maintained as permanent operational right-of-way.
    Construction of Line A-334 would parallel an abandoned railroad 
track to the greatest extent possible (2.2 miles) and would use a 
nominal 50-foot-wide right-of-way for both construction and permanent 
operation in this area. Typically, for construction of Line A-334, MRT 
proposes to use a 75-foot-wide construction right-of-way, consisting of 
50 feet of permanent right-of-way and 25 feet of temporary workspace. 
Several agricultural fields and cultivated areas exist along the 
pipeline route. In these locations, MRT would perform topsoil 
segregation, and proposes to use a 100-foot-wide construction right-of-
way, consisting of 50 feet of permanent right-of-way, 25 feet of 
temporary workspace, and 25 feet of additional temporary workspace. 
Construction of Line A-334 would require about 13.6 acres of additional 
temporary workspaces where it crosses roads, railroads, wetlands, and 
utilities. About 33.9 acres of land would be affected during 
construction of the lateral and about 21.8 acres would be maintained as 
permanent right-of-way. Land used as temporary workspaces and 
additional temporary workspaces would revert to the existing land use.
    The proposed meter station would use about 0.2 acre (75 feet by 100 
feet) of land at Union's Venice Power Plant for both construction and 
operation.
    The proposed Horseshoe Lake Compressor Station would use about 3.4 
acres of land for both construction and operation within MRT's 5.7 acre 
Horseshoe Lake facility lot. MRT would fence area of about 2.9 acres 
around the proposed compressor station.
    All access roads designated for use during construction are 
existing dirt, gravel, or paved roads.

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 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'', refer to the environmental 
staff of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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

[[Page 51664]]

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 (including alternative 
locations/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., N.E., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 1.
     Reference Docket No. CP04-346-000.
    Mail your comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC 
on or before September 10, 2004.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of comments. 
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 send one electronic copy (using the 
Commission's e-Filing system) or 14 paper 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).\3\ Only intervenors have 
the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's decision.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, 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, site visits will be posted on the Commission's calendar 
located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspxalong with 
other related information.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E4-1870 Filed 8-19-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P