[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 236 (Friday, December 9, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73227-73228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-7089]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP06-17-000]


Colorado Interstate Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Sanford Station Abandonment 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

December 1, 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 Sanford Station Abandonment 
Project involving abandonment by removal of facilities by Colorado 
Interstate Gas Company (CIG) in Hutchinson County, Texas.\1\ These 
facilities would consist of the abandonment by removal of three 880 
horsepower (hp) reciprocal compressor units, and miscellaneous gas 
processing and sweetening facilities.\2\ 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\ CIG's application was filed with the Commission under 
section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
    \2\ Gas ``sweetening'' refers to the processes utilized to 
remove impurities (primarily hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide) 
from certain natural gas supply streams.
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    This notice announces the opening of the scoping period that will 
be used to gather environmental input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Please note that the scoping period will close 
on January 3, 2006.
    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; and 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.

Summary of the Proposed Project

    CIG wants to abandon by removal the following facilities at the 
Sanford Station in Hutchinson County, Texas:
     Three 880 hp reciprocal compressor units yielding a total 
of 2,640 hp.
     Miscellaneous gas processing and gas sweetening 
facilities.
    CIG states that it no longer requires the Sanford Station for 
natural gas service, because the transportation arrangements supported 
by and through the Sanford Station and related facilities terminated 
several years ago. Since CIG has no further need for the Sanford 
Station, CIG proposed to abandon and demolish the Station, restore the 
site, and return the land to the landowner. CIG states that the 
abandonment project would be conducted in full compliance with all 
federal and state safety regulations including those of the U.S. 
Department of Transportation and the Texas Railroad Commission.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 1.\3\
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    \3\ 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 affect about 19 acres 
of land that are currently leased to CIG by the Sanford Texas Ranch, 
Inc., a private landowner. The fenced compressor and amine buildings, 
meter houses, and associated appurtenant facilities currently occupy 
the entire site. The abandonment activity would require the removal of 
jurisdictional facilities as well as associated non-jurisdictional 
facilities located within the fence line of the station property. CIG 
also proposes that the site be restored to pre-construction conditions, 
as near as practicable, and the land be returned to the landowner. At 
the termination of the lease, CIG and the landowner would require the 
property to be free of any and all facilities (with the exception of 
monitoring and/or remediation-related wells) and that there be no 
adverse environmental conditions related to the CIG facilities, except 
those that may require on-going remediation.

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 \4\ 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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    \4\ ``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
     Hazardous waste
     Public safety
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to 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 below.

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

[[Page 73228]]

environmental information provided by CIG and our staff. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
     Five Federally listed endangered or threatened species may 
occur in the proposed project area.
     The Sanford Station is being reviewed by the State 
Historic Preservation Officer to determine whether the station should 
be considered a historic site.
     Soil and possible groundwater contamination may exist at 
the site. Investigations concluded that hydrocarbon, mercury, and 
polychlorinated biphenyls exist in the soils, and asbestos, and lead-
based paint are present in the building materials.

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 2.
     Reference Docket No. CP06-17-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before January 3, 2006.
    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.
    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 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 (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. E5-7089 Filed 12-8-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P