[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 100 (Wednesday, May 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29944-29946]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7964]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP03-12-001]


Egan Hub Storage, LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Egan Horsepower 
Reconfiguration Project and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

May 18, 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 the Egan Horsepower 
Reconfiguration Project involving construction and operation of 
facilities by Egan Hub Storage, LLC (Egan Hub). The project would 
include an additional 3,080 horsepower (hp) and about 2,700 feet of 
suction and discharge piping at the Egan Gas Storage Facility in 
Evangeline, Acadia Parish, Louisiana.\1\ 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\ Egan Hub'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 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 Egan Hub 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

    Egan Hub proposes to:
    1. Install two 13,330-hp turbine compressors in lieu of the three 
certificated not-yet-installed 7,860-hp reciprocating compressors;
    2. Install seven catalytic converters on seven existing 
reciprocating compressors; and
    3. Install 1,200 feet of 24-inch diameter suction piping and 1,500 
feet of 20-inch diameter of discharge piping and associated appurtenant 
facilities.
    Egan Hub also requests authorization to extend the construction 
period for the three storage caverns and associated facilities to 
October 1, 2009.
    Egan Hub indicates that the project would not increase the maximum 
operating capacity of the three storage caverns (31.5 Bcf of 
certificated maximum aggregate operating capacity). In support of its 
proposal, Egan Hub indicates that the increase of 3,080 hp would allow 
Egan Hub to increase the maximum daily injection capability from 0.8 
Bcf to 1.3 Bcf and the maximum daily withdrawal capability from 1.5 Bcf 
to 2.5 Bcf.
    Egan Hub requests authorization on or before August 1, 2006 to 
begin construction by November 1, 2006.
    Egan Hub indicates that it would ``install minor non-jurisdictional 
facilities comprised of 500 feet of new below-ground powerline and a 
480 volt transformer.''
    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 (map), 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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[[Page 29945]]

Land Requirements for Construction

    Egan Hub indicates that no additional property or right-of-way 
would be required. Construction of the proposed facilities would be 
within the existing fenced line of the Egan Gas Storage Facility.

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
     Cultural resources
     Vegetation and wildlife
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands
     Endangered and threatened species
     Air quality and noise
     Hazardous waste
     Public 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 below.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    We have identified noise near residences as an issue that we think 
deserves attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by Egan Hub. 
Additional issues may be identified based on your comments and our 
analysis.
    Also, we have made a preliminary decision to not address the 
impacts of the nonjurisdictional facilities. We will briefly describe 
their location and status in the EA.

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/EIS 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. CP03-12-001.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before June 19, 2006.
    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 2). 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.

[[Page 29946]]

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.

Appendix 1--Information Request

    [Docket No. CP03-12-001]

[ballot] Please keep my name on the mailing list for the Egan 
Horsepower Reconfiguration Project.
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[ballot] Please send me a paper copy of the environmental document 
instead of a CD.

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ATTN: OEP--Gas 2, PJ--11.2, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 
888 First Street, NE., Washington, DC 20426.

Staple or Tape Here

[FR Doc. E6-7964 Filed 5-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P