[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 106 (Friday, June 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32070-32071]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8599]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP06-85-000]


Centerpoint Energy Gas Transmission Company; Notice of 
Availability of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 
Proposed Carthage to Perryville Project

May 26, 2006.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) has prepared this Draft Environmental Impact Statement 
(EIS) for the natural gas pipeline facilities proposed by CenterPoint 
Energy Gas Transmission (CEGT) under the above-referenced docket. 
CEGT's Carthage to Perryville Project (Project) would be located in 
various counties and parishes in eastern Texas and northern Louisiana.
    This Draft EIS was prepared to satisfy the requirements of the 
National Environmental Policy Act. The FERC staff concludes that the 
proposed Project, with the appropriate mitigation measures as 
recommended, would have limited adverse environmental impact.
    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers (COE) are Federal cooperating agencies for the development of 
this EIS. A Federal cooperating agency has jurisdiction by law or 
special expertise with respect to any environmental impact involved 
with the proposal and is involved in the NEPA analysis.
    The general purpose of the proposed Project is to facilitate the 
transport of up to 1.2 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas 
received from production areas in eastern Texas, as well as northern 
Louisiana, to markets in the Midwest and Northeastern regions of the 
United States that can be accessed through interconnects with existing 
pipeline infrastructure.
    The Draft EIS addresses the potential environmental effects of 
construction and operation of the following facilities:
     About 171.9 miles of 42-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline 
in Panola County, Texas, and Caddo, DeSoto, Red River, Bienville, 
Jackson, Ouachita, and Richland Parishes, Louisiana;
     Two new, 20,620 horsepower (hp) gas-turbine-driven 
compressor stations, the Panola and Vernon Compressor Stations, located 
in Panola County, Texas, and Jackson Parish, Louisiana, respectively;
     Two meter and regulator stations at receipt points with 
three intrastate pipelines, including:

--Houston Pipe Line (HPL) Meter/Regulator (M/R) Station in Panola 
County, Texas;
--Duke Energy Field Services-Enbridge M/R Station in Panola County, 
Texas;

     Four new meter and regulator stations at interconnects 
with existing interstate pipelines, including:

--Texas Gas M/R Station in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana;
--ANR M/R Station in Richland Parish, Louisiana;
--Trunkline M/R Station in Richland Parish, Louisiana;

--Columbia Gulf M/R Station in Richland Parish, Louisiana;
     11 mainline valves; and
     Four pig launcher/receiver facilities associated with the 
Panola and Vernon Compressor Stations and the HPL and Columbia Gulf M/R 
Stations.
    CEGT proposes to construct its pipeline facilities in two phases. 
Construction of Phase I would be initiated in October 2006 and 
completed by February 2007, at which point CEGT would place the 
proposed Project in-service. Under Phase I, a single, 10,310-hp turbine 
compressor would be installed at each compressor station. Under Phase 
II, a second compressor would be installed to bring the total installed 
compression at each facility to 20,620 hp. CEGT indicates that Phase II 
facilities would be installed and operational by October 2008.

Comment Procedures and Public Meetings

    Any person wishing to comment on the Draft EIS may do so. To ensure 
that your comments are timely and properly recorded so that they may be 
considered in the Final EIS, please carefully follow these 
instructions:
     Send an original and two copies of your comments to: 
Magalie R. Salas, Secretary, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 888 
First Street, NE., Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426.
     Label one copy of your comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 3, DG2E;
     Reference Docket No. CP06-85-000 on the original and both 
copies; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before July 17, 2006.
    To expedite the FERC's receipt and consideration of your comments, 
electronic submission of comments is strongly encouraged by the 
Commission. For information on electronically filing comments, please 
see 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, as well as information in 18 CFR 385.2001(a)(1)(iii). Before you 
can

[[Page 32071]]

submit comments you will need to create a free account, which can be 
created on-line by clicking on ``Sign-up'' under ``New User.'' You will 
also be asked to select the type of filing you are making. This filing 
is consisdered a ``Comment on Filing.''
    In lieu of or in addition to sending written comments, we invite 
you to attend the public comment meetings the FERC will conduct in the 
project area to receive comments on the Draft EIS. The public comment 
meetings on the Draft EIS for the Carthage to Perryville Project will 
be conducted jointly with the public scoping meetings for the East 
Texas Expansion Project (FERC Docket No. PF06-17-000), which we are 
currently evaluating under our Pre-Filing Process. All meetings will 
begin at 7 p.m. (CDT), and are scheduled as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
        Date and time                           Location
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, June 21, 2006.....  Quitman High School Auditorium, 181
                                Wolverine Drive, Quitman, LA 71268,
                                Telephone: (318) 259-2698.
Thursday, June 22, 2006......  Delhi High School Auditorium, 413 Main
                                Street, Delhi, LA 71232, Telephone:
                                (318) 878-2235.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The public comment meetings will be posted on the FERC's calendar 
located at http://www.ferc.gov/EventCalendar/EventsList.aspx. 
Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend and present 
oral comments on the Draft EIS. Transcripts of the meetings will be 
prepared.
    After the comments received are reviewed, any significant new 
issues are investigated, and modifications are made to the Draft EIS, a 
Final EIS will be published and distributed by the FERC staff. The 
Final EIS will contain the staff's responses to timely comments 
received on the Draft EIS.
    Comments will be considered by the Commission but will not serve to 
make the commentor a party to the proceeding. Any person seeking to 
become a party to the proceeding must file a motion to intervene 
pursuant to Rule 214 of the Commission's Rules of Practice and 
Procedures (18 CFR 385.214). Anyone may intervene in this proceeding 
based on this Draft EIS. You must file your request to intervene as 
specified above.\1\ You do not need intervenor status to have your 
comments considered.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Draft EIS has been placed in the public files of the FERC and 
is available for public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission, Public Reference Room, 888 First Street N.E., Room 2A, 
Washington, DC 20426, (202) 502-8371.
    A limited number of copies of the Draft EIS are available from the 
Public Reference Room identified above. In addition, CD copies of the 
Draft EIS have been mailed to affected landowners; various Federal, 
state, and local government agencies; elected officials; environmental 
and public interest groups; Native American tribes; local libraries and 
newspapers; intervenors; and other individuals that expressed an 
interest in the proposed Project. Hard-copies of the Draft EIS have 
also been mailed to those who requested that format during the scoping 
period for the proposed Project.
    To reduce printing and mailing costs for the Final EIS, the FERC 
will be issuing that document in both CD and hard-copy formats. In a 
separate mailing, the parties on the current mailing list for the Draft 
EIS will be sent a postcard providing an opportunity to select the 
format of the Final EIS that they wish to receive. The FERC is strongly 
encouraging the use of the CD format in their publication of large 
documents.
    Additional information about the project is available from the 
Commission's Office of External Affairs, at 1-866-208-FERC (3372) or on 
the FERC Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov). Using the ``eLibrary 
link,'' select ``General Search'' and enter the project docket number 
excluding the last three digits (i.e., CP06-85) 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 TTY (202) 
502-8659. The eLibrary link on the FERC Internet Web site also provides 
access to the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission, such 
as orders, notices, and rule makings.
    In addition, the FERC now offers a free service called 
eSubscription that 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. To register for this service, go to http://www.ferc.gov/esubscribenow.htm.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-8599 Filed 6-1-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P