[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 50 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13380-13382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-3669]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP06-58-000]


Southern Natural Gas Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Southern Natural Gas 
Company's 2006 Abandonment and Replacement Project Request for Comments 
on Environmental Issues

March 8, 2006.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the environmental impacts of Southern Natural Gas Company's 
(Southern) application for its 2006 Abandonment and Replacement 
Project. Southern proposes to abandon, replace and modify facilities 
associated with its 22-inch North Main Loop Line and abandon its Pell 
City Compressor Station Unit No. 3 as part of an extensive pipeline 
integrity program. Pipeline changes would occur on Southern's existing 
system in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama. Abandonment of a compressor 
station would occur in St. Clair County, Alabama.
    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. Scoping comments are requested by April 10, 
2006.
    With this notice, the staff of the FERC is asking other Federal, 
State, local and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special 
expertise with respect to environmental issues to cooperate with us in 
the preparation of the EA. These agencies may choose to participate 
once they have evaluated Southern's proposal relative to their 
responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating 
status should follow the instructions for filing comments described in 
Appendix 1.
    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 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 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?'' is available for 
viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). 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).

Background

Pipeline Abandonment, Replacement and Modification

    Southern's 22-inch McConnells North Main Loop Line, which is part 
of its North Main Line System in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, was 
commissioned in 1946 and is proposed for retirement as part of the 
application. Because of a reduction in contracted capacity in this area 
due to capacity turnback and capacity shift, this section of the line 
is no longer needed. However, to continue to provide reliable and safe 
gas supplies to the western Alabama region, Southern proposes to 
replace a section of the abandoned 22-inch McConnells North Main loop 
Line by extending the existing 24-inch 2nd North Main Loop Line.

Compressor Station Abandonment

    The Pell City Compressor Station was built in 1989 to deliver firm 
contract volumes on the Gadsden Lateral Line. Since the Gadsden Lateral 
Line has not been operating at full contract capacity, the Pell City 
Unit No. 3 has not been required to deliver peak day demand on the 
Gadsden Lateral Line. Recent capacity turnback on the Gadsden Lateral 
Line makes it possible to abandon the Pell City Unit No. 3 since it is 
no longer required to meet firm peak day requirements.

Summary of the Proposed Project

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

     Abandon in place 4.55 miles of the McConnells 22-inch 
North Main Loop Segment from Milepost 260.74 to Milepost 265.29. This 
portion of the McConnells North Main Loop Segment would be pigged, 
filled with nitrogen, and capped before being abandoned in place.
     Abandon and remove 6.36 miles from Milepost 265.29 to 
Milepost 271.65. Southern proposes to remove all pipeline and 
associated piping assemblies along this 6.36 mile route, with the 
exception of the North River crossing at Milepost 269.45 and any 
uncased road crossings. The uncased road crossing would be cut and 
capped on each side of the road crossing and filled with grout for 
abandonment in place. The cased road crossings that are left void would 
also be filled with grout and abandoned in place.

[[Page 13381]]

     Install a new anchor block and blowoff/crossover assembly 
at Milepost 271.65, and, if necessary, continue maintenance by 
installing sleeves on coupled joints from Milepost 271.65 to Milepost 
271.73.
     Extend its 24-inch 2nd North Main Loop Line by 
constructing, installing and operating 6.1 miles of 24-inch pipeline 
from Milepost 142.6 to Milepost 148.7 (Tuscaloosa County, Alabama). 
This segment of the 24-inch 2nd North Main Loop Line is parallel to 
Milepost 265.3 to Milepost 271.6 of the 22-inch North Main Loop Line, 
which is proposed to be abandoned above. Installation of the proposed 
2nd North Main Loop Segment would be within the same location and same 
ditch line as Southern's 22-inch North Main Loop Line after the 
abandonment and removal of the 6.36 miles described above.
     Connect the proposed 2nd North Main Loop Segment to the 
existing 24-inch 2nd North Main Loop Line by removing the existing weld 
cap and making a tie-in at Milepost 142.56. It would also be necessary 
to install a new blowoff/crossover assembly at Milepost 148.93, which 
would be connected to the crossover assembly installed at Milepost 
271.65 on the 22-inch North Main Loop Line as detailed above.

St. Clair County, Alabama

     Abandon in place its Pell City Compressor Station Unit No. 
3 (St. Clair County, Alabama) at Milepost 352.8 on Southern's North 
Main and North Main Loop Lines. All existing gas piping systems would 
be disconnected including fuel gas and blind flanges would be installed 
at these points. Additionally, electric power would be disconnected 
from the unit such that all control systems would be inoperable. The 
unit would then be purged with nitrogen and prepared for long term 
storage in place.
    The location of the project facilities is shown in Appendix 2.\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 Commissions 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

    Abandonment, replacement and modification of the proposed 
facilities would require the temporary disturbance of about 105.24 
acres of land, the majority of which is within Southern's existing 100-
foot right-of-way. Additional extra work spaces of 10.32 acres) would 
be required at road and waterbody crossings.
    Following construction, permanent land acquisition of 0.16 acres 
would be maintained as part of the right-of-way for the maintenance of 
the 24-inch 2nd North Main Loop Line Replacement section. The remaining 
acreage required during construction would be restored and allowed to 
revert to its former land uses.

The EA Process

    We \2\ 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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    \2\ ``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 Commissions 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 
reasonable 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 Southern. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
    Project-related impact on:
     7 residences/structures within 50 feet of the construction 
workspace.
     1 active private well within 32 feet of the construction 
workspace.
     2.6 acres of upland forest.
     Four federally-listed threatened and endangered species 
potentially in the project area.
     9 emergent wetland crossings 3.5 acres.
     23 water body crossings.
     Road crossings.

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 Number CP06-58-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before April 10, 2006.
    Please note that the Commission encourages electronic filing of 
comments. See 18 Code of Federal Regulations (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. Prepare your submission in the same manner as you would if 
filing on paper and save it to a file on your hard drive. Before you 
can file comments you will need to create an account by clicking on 
``Login to File'' and then ``New User Account.'' You will be asked to 
select the type of

[[Page 13382]]

filing you are making. This filing is considered a ``Comment on 
Filing.''
    The determination of whether to distribute the EA for public 
comment will be based on the response to this notice. If you are 
interested in receiving it, please return the Information Requested 
(Appendix 3). An effort is being made to send this notice to all 
individuals 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.

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''. 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 
electtronically 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 
email 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

    If you wish to remain on our environmental mailing list, please 
return the Information Request Form included in Appendix 3. If you do 
not return this form, you will be removed from our mailing list.

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 TYY, 
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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-3669 Filed 3-14-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P