[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30100-30102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-2608]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-92-000]


Liberty Gas Storage, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Liberty Gas Storage Project 
and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

May 18, 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 proposed Liberty Gas Storage 
Project which involves the construction and operation of facilities by 
Liberty Gas Storage L.L.C. (Liberty) in Calcasieu and Beauregard 
Parishes, Louisiana.\1\ These facilities would consist of two natural 
gas storage caverns; four injection/withdrawal wells, two compressor 
stations, approximately 24.6 miles of various diameter pipelines and 
four meter/regulator stations.
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    \1\ Liberty'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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    This notice announces the opening of the scoping period that will 
be used to

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gather environmental input from the public and interested agencies on 
the project. Please note that the scoping period will close on June 20, 
2005.
    This notice is being sent to potentially affected landowners; 
federal, state, and local government agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes, other 
interested parties; local libraries and newspapers. State and local 
government representatives are asked to notify their constituents of 
this planned project and encourage them to comment on their areas of 
concern.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a Liberty 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 Liberty 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 
and is available for viewing on the FERC Internet Web site at http://www.ferc.gov.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    According to Liberty, the purpose of the Project is to provide 
additional natural gas storage services to local gas distributors, 
power generators, pipeline shippers, gas marketers and existing and 
proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals.
    Liberty proposes to:
     Convert two existing salt dome caverns currently used for 
brine solution mining in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana to natural gas 
storage caverns;
     Convert two existing brine extraction wells into natural 
gas injection/withdrawal wells;
     Construct two additional natural gas injection/withdrawal 
wells;
     Construct a 1.3-mile-long 20-inch-diameter pipeline 
connecting the converted storage caverns to a new on-site compressor 
station;
     Construct from the on-site compressor station a new 23.3-
mile-long 30-inch-diameter pipeline that would interconnect with 
existing pipeline facilities in Beauregard Parish, Louisiana;
     Construct a remote compressor station in Beauregard 
Parish; and
     Construct four new meter/regulator stations along the 30-
inch-diameter pipeline.
    The on site compressor station would have approximately 17,650 HP 
of natural gas fueled compression. The remote compressor station would 
have approximately 9,470 HP of natural gas fueled compression. The 
project would have a total natural gas storage capacity of 
approximately 23.4 billion cubic feet (Bcf).
    The location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced to in this notice will not be 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of all appendices with the 
exception of appendix 1 (maps), are available on the Commission's 
website via the ``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission's Public 
Reference Room, 888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426, or by 
calling (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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Nonjurisdictional Facilities

    Entergy Corporation would construct, own and operate a non-
jurisdictional 1.2-mile-long 7.2/12.5 kilovolt distribution line 
entirely within the proposed 30-inch-diameter pipeline construction 
right-of-way. This distribution line would connect the remote 
compressor station to available electrical service.

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would affect approximately 
341.46 acres of land. Following construction, approximately 173.34 
acres of land would be maintained as new aboveground facility sites and 
right-of-way. The remaining 168.12 acres of land would be restored and 
allowed to revert to its former use.

The EA Process

    We \3\ are preparing this EA to comply with the National 
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) which 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. By this notice, we are 
also asking federal, state, and local agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. Agencies that would 
like to request cooperating status should follow the instructions for 
filing comments below.
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    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
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    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.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    In the EA, we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the project. We will also evaluate 
possible alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the 
project.
    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 Liberty. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Endangered and threatened species: The federally 
endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker and the federally threatened Bald 
Eagle may occur in the proposed project area.
     Wetlands: Approximately 40.9 acres of wetlands (including 
forested, scrub-shrub, emergent and ``mosaic'') would be affected 
during project construction and approximately 24.8 acres of wetlands 
would be permanently affected by project operation.
     Water resources: 19 waterbodies would be crossed by the 
proposed 30-inch-diameter pipeline.
     Land use: Two residences are located within 50 feet of the 
proposed 30-inch-diameter pipeline.
     Soils: Approximately 20.9 acres of prime farm land would 
be removed from potential agricultural use.

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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., NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 2.
     Reference Docket No. CP05-92-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 20, 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 online.
    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 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).\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 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. The eLibrary link 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. E5-2608 Filed 5-24-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P