[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12676-12678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-1084]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket Nos. CP05-64-000]


Florida Gas Transmission Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Turkey Point Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

March 8, 2005.
    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 Turkey Point Project involving 
abandonment, construction and operation of facilities by Florida Gas 
Transmission (FGT) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. These facilities 
would consist of the construction and operation of a new 17,000 
horsepower Compressor Station, and the installation of a 24-inch Tee 
and Side Valve on the existing FGT lateral on the grounds of the Turkey 
Point Power Plant owned by Florida Power and Light (FPL). The EA will 
be used by the Commission in its decisionmaking process to determine 
whether the project is in the public convenience and necessity.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    FGT is requesting authorization to abandon facilities and to 
construct, own, and operate facilities consisting of a new 17,000 
horsepower (hp) electric Compressor Station No. 22 (CS 22) and 
appurtenant facilities located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, on the 
existing FGT 24-inch Turkey Point Lateral within the existing Turkey 
Point Power Plant owned by FPL. Specifically, FGT plans to:
     Construct a 1,600-foot extension of the existing 18-inch 
mainline at approximate milepost (MP) 907.7 to the proposed Compressor 
Station 22, and back to the 18-inch mainline tie in;
     Abandon approximately 50 feet of the existing 18-inch 
mainline at MP 907.7 near the intersection of NW., 72nd Avenue (Milam 
Dairy Road) and NW., 64th Street;

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     Construct Compressor Station 22 with two 8,500 hp electric 
driven compressors designed for unmanned operation on the existing FGT 
18-inch mainline located in unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Florida 
on FPL-owned property located northeast of the intersection of NW., 
72nd Avenue (Milam Dairy Rd) and NW., 64th Street;
     Install a motor control center, gas after-cooling, an oily 
water storage tank, facility blowdown, a pipeline liquids storage tank, 
at the fully fenced Compressor Station 22; and
     Install a new 24-inch Tee and Side Valve on the existing 
FGT 24-inch Turkey Point Lateral at FPL's new 24-inch lateral to the 
FGT system.
    The location of the proposed site is shown in Appendix 1.\1\
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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, N.E., Washington, D.C. 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 14.68 
acres of land. Following construction, about 6.86 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites and pipeline right-of-way. 
The remaining 0.92 acre 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:

    \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
     Reliability and 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 
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 
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. CP05-64-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before April 8, 2005.
    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 might 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 send one electronic copy (using the 
Commission's eFiling 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.
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    \3\ Interventions may also be filed electronically. See previous 
discussion on electronic filing.
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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-

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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/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx along with other related information.

Linda Mitry,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E5-1084 Filed 3-14-05; 8:45 am]
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