[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 3, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44618-44620]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-4177]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-389-000]


Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Weaver, Medina, 
and Coco Storage Field Well Abandonment Project and Request for 
Comments on Environmental Issues

July 27, 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 Weaver, Medina, and Coco 
Storage Field Well Abandonment Project involving abandonment of 
facilities by Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (Columbia) in 
Richland and Medina Counties, Ohio and Kanawha County, West 
Virginia.\1\ The project facilities would consist of plugging and 
abandonment of six gas storage wells and related appurtenances, 
abandonment in place of five segments of 3- and 4-inch-diameter 
pipeline totaling about 7,867 feet, and abandonment by removal of ten 
segments of 3- and 4-inch-diameter pipeline totaling 357 feet. This EA 
will be used by the Commission in its decision-making process to 
determine whether the project is in the public convenience and 
necessity.
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    \1\ Columbia's application was filed with the Commission under 
section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
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    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 Columbia provided to affected

[[Page 44619]]

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

    Columbia wants to perform the following abandonment-related 
activities in the following gas storage fields:

Weaver gas storage field in Richland County, Ohio

     Plug and abandon the Weaver 3393 Well and abandon by 
removal a 23-foot-long segment of the 3-inch-diameter SL-W 3393 well 
pipeline and a 13-foot-long segment of 6-inch-diameter portion of the 
well pipeline, two blow-offs, and a 16-inch-diameter vertical drip, and 
install a blind plate at the tie-in valve;
     Plug and abandon the Weaver 8560 Well and abandon by 
removal a 9-foot-long segment of the aboveground portion of the 3-inch-
diameter SL-W 8560 pipeline and a tie-in valve, a 1-inch blow-off, a 
16-inch-diameter vertical drip, and about 25 feet of the buried portion 
the SL-W 8560 pipeline; and
     Plug and abandon the Weaver 8853 Well, abandon by removal 
two segments of the 3-inch-diameter aboveground SL-W 8853 pipeline 
totaling 30 feet, two 1-inch blow-offs, a 16-inch-diameter vertical 
drip, a farm tap, cut and cap the existing 3-inch-diameter well line 
and install a blind plate at the tie-in valve on Line SL-3390, and 
abandon in place about 592 feet of the 3-inch-diameter well line SL-
W8853.

Medina gas storage field in Medina County, Ohio

     Plug and abandon the Medina 10087 Well, abandon by removal 
two 1-inch blow-offs, a 16-inch-diameter vertical drip, about 14 feet 
of the aboveground portion of the 4-inch-diameter SL-W 10087 pipeline, 
about 20 feet of aboveground 3-inch-diameter section of the same 
pipeline, cut and cap the existing 3-inch-diameter portion of well line 
and install a blind plate at the tie-in valve, and abandon in place 
about 442 feet of the 4-inch-diameter portion of the well line.

Coco gas storage field in Kanawha County, West Virginia

     Plug and abandon the Coco 7332 Well, abandon by removal a 
methanol tap, a meter building, about 100 feet of the 4-inch-diameter 
X52C-W 7332 pipeline, and abandon in place about 3,439 feet of the same 
pipeline; and
     Plug and abandon the Coco 7334 Well, abandon by removal a 
methanol tap, a meter building, two drip tanks, a tie-in valve, about 
123 feet of the 4-inch-diameter X52C-W 7334 pipeline, and abandon in 
place about 2,470 feet of the same pipeline.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\2\
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    \2\ 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

    Abandonment of the proposed facilities would require about 15.2 
acres of land for removal and capping of six storage wells, removal of 
short segments of well pipelines, and removal of associated aboveground 
appurtenant facilities. Following the abandonment activities the entire 
15.2 acres would be allowed to revert to previous land uses or other 
land uses intended by the landowners.

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 \3\ 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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    \3\ ''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, and wetlands.
     Cultural resources.
     Vegetation and wildlife.
     Endangered and threatened species.
    We will not discuss impacts to the following resource areas since 
they are not present in the project area, or would not be affected by 
the proposed activities.
     Fisheries.
     Air quality and noise.
     Hazardous waste.
    We will also evaluate possible 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.
    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.
    To ensure your comments are considered, please carefully follow the 
instructions 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. CP05-389-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before August 29, 2005.
    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

[[Page 44620]]

http://www.ferc.gov under the ``Documents & Filing, 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 3). 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, or ``intervenor''. 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). Intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the 
Commission's decision. Motions to Intervene should be electronically 
submitted using the Commission's eFiling system at http://www.ferc.gov. 
Persons without Internet access should send an original and 14 copies 
of their motion to the Secretary of the Commission. Persons filing 
Motions to Intervene on or before the comment deadline indicated above 
must send a copy of the motion to the Applicant. All filings, including 
late interventions, submitted after the comment deadline must be served 
on the Applicant and all other intervenors identified on the 
Commission's service list for this proceeding. Persons on the service 
list with email addresses may be served 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. By this 
notice we are also asking governmental agencies, especially those in 
Appendix 2, 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. E5-4177 Filed 8-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P