[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 28, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56679-56681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-5204]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP05-405-000]


Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed North Lansing NSS 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

September 16, 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 North Lansing NSS Project 
involving construction and operation of facilities by Natural Gas 
Pipeline Company of America (Natural) in Harrison County, Texas.\1\ The 
proposed facilities include new storage wells, field pipelines and 
appurtenances, storage well recompletions, a new 30-inch-diameter loop 
pipeline, 13,000 horsepower (hp) of compression and related facilities. 
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\ Natural'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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    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

[[Page 56680]]

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 Natural 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

    Natural is proposing to provide additional cycled working gas 
capacity at its North Lansing Storage Field in Harrison County, Texas 
by increasing the withdrawal rate during late season conditions. 
Natural's proposed construction would allow 10 billion cubic feet (Bcf) 
of cushion gas to be converted into cycled working gas, for a total 
working gas capacity of 95.2 Bcf in the North Lansing Storage Field. In 
addition, Natural seeks authority to increase the field's certificated 
peak day withdrawal level from 1100 million cubic feet (MMcf) to 1240 
MMcf. There would be no change in the maximum inventory level of the 
field. Natural seeks authority to:
     Drill twelve new injection/withdrawal storage wells from 
seven well pads;
     Recomplete sixteen existing injection/withdrawal storage 
wells (non jurisdictional);
     Install new pigging facilities and modify existing 
pipeline and compressor station appurtenances (non jurisdictional);
     Install about 1.8 miles of 12-inch-diameter field 
pipelines and appurtenances;
     Upgrade existing field pipelines, meters, and 
appurtenances;
     Construct 8.7 miles of 30-inch-diameter loop pipeline;
     Add a 30-inch-diameter tap to the Gulf Coast 3 
mainline; and
     Add 13,000 hp of compression, gas cooling, separation, 
metering, a transformer, and related equipment at the existing 
Compressor Station 388.
    The general 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

    Construction of all project facilities, including pipelines, well 
pads, access roads, a pipe storage yard and extra workspaces would 
impact approximately 209 acres. Construction disturbance includes a 
100-foot-wide construction right-of-way for the new 30-inch-diameter 
pipeline, an 80-foot-wide construction right-of-way for the new field 
pipelines, one new well pad and the expansion of six existing well 
pads. The alignment of all new pipelines would be adjacent to existing 
maintained pipeline right-of-way. Modifications to the compressor 
station would be performed completely within Natural's property at the 
station site, with the exception of a 4-inch-diameter water line that 
would run outside of the station fencing. The sixteen well 
recompletions and meter upgrades would be performed on existing well 
pads and would result in no new disturbance areas.
    Following construction, about 88 acres would be maintained as new 
aboveground facility sites, access roads, or 50-foot-wide permanent 
pipeline right-of-way. The remaining 121 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.
    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
     Water resources and wetlands
     Fisheries, vegetation, and wildlife
     Endangered and threatened species
     Land use, recreation, and visual resources
     Socioeconomics
     Cultural resources
     Air quality and noise
     Reliability and safety
    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 in the public participation section beginning on page 5.

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 Natural. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     There are thirteen existing and planned residences and out 
buildings within 50 feet of the construction work areas.
     The project would permanently impact approximately 12 
acres of soils that are potentially prime farmland soils.
     There are three private wells located within 150 feet of 
the project construction boundary.
     Five perennial streams, fourteen intermittent streams, and 
ten wetlands would be crossed by the proposed project.
     Clearing of 83 acres of upland forest would be necessary 
for well pad and pipeline construction.
     Suitable habitat is present for the federally listed 
threatened Louisiana black bear, and Texas State listed

[[Page 56681]]

threatened species including the northern scarlet snake, timber/
canebrake rattlesnake, and Rafinesque's big-eared bat.
     Three noise sensitive areas (i.e. residences) are located 
approximately 875 feet north, 1,210 feet northeast, and 837 feet 
northwest from the compressor station.
    Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the 
impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities that do not require 
clearing, grading or excavation. We will briefly describe their 
location and status in the EA. Nonjurisdictional facilities that 
require disturbance will be included in the project analysis.

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 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP05-405-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before October 17, 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 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 at the address 
indicated previously. 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 e-mail addresses may be 
served electronically; others must be served a hard copy of the filing.
    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. E5-5204 Filed 9-27-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P