[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 213 (Friday, November 3, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64698-64700]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18540]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP06-464-000]


ANR Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Storage Enhancement Project--
2008 and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

October 27, 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 Storage Enhancement Project--
2008 (STEP-2008 Project) involving construction and operation of 
facilities by ANR Pipeline Company (ANR) in Kalkaska County, Michigan. 
The STEP-2008 Project would convert the nearly depleted Cold Springs 1 
production reservoir into a gas storage facility.
    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 November 28, 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; 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

[[Page 64699]]

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 Internet 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.

Summary of the Proposed Project \1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ ANR's application was filed with the Commission under 
section 7 of the Natural Gas Act and Part 157 of the Commission's 
regulations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To achieve the conversion of the nearly depleted Cold Springs 1 
production reservoir into a gas storage facility and to provide the 
increased deliverability, ANR proposes to drill six new injection/
withdrawal wells, construct a 7,000-horsepower compressor station, 
install a 500-foot-long gathering pipeline, install 700 feet of 20-
inch-diameter transmission pipeline, install a 500-foot-long liquid re-
injection pipeline, and convert the existing State Blue Lake No. 1-6 
Well to an observation well. An existing 2.4-mile-long, 24-inch-
diameter pipeline would connect the storage field to ANR's interstate 
pipeline system. The STEP-2008 Project would provide 14.7 billion cubic 
feet of incremental storage capacity and increased deliverability to 
satisfy the market demand for storage services. The maximum reservoir 
pressure would be 4,680 pounds per square inch absolute at the base of 
the caprock which is about 6,500 feet deep.
    The general location of ANR's proposed facilities is shown on the 
map attached as Appendix 1.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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 avaialble on the Commission's Web site 
at the ``eLibary'' 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 eLibary refer to the 
last page of this notice. Copies of the appendices were sent to all 
those receiving this notice in the mail.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction and operation of ANR's proposed facilities would 
require about 26.2 acres of land. The amount of land required for 
installation of the new wells, connecting pipelines, and access roads 
would be about 13.5 acres. Following construction, about 2.4 acres 
would be maintained as graveled well pads and access roads, and the 
remaining 11.1 acres would be maintained as herbaceous cover along the 
pipeline rights-of-way. The compressor station would require about 12.7 
acres for both construction and operation on land that has been 
previously disturbed. The proposed Cold Springs 1 storage field 
boundary would encompass about 810 acres, including 155 acres within 
the reservoir proper and about 655 acres of buffer area. Construction 
of the proposed facilities would occur on land currently owned by ANR 
or on state land that ANR plans to purchase.

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. The EA will be used by 
the Commission in its decision-making process to determine whether the 
project is in the public convenience and necessity. NEPA also requires 
us \3\ to discover and address concerns the public may have about 
proposals to be considered by the Commission. 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'', refer to the environmental 
staff of the Office of Energy Projects (OEP).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 (see Public 
Participation).
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be included 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.

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 
possible alternatives to the proposed project or portions of the 
project.
    We have already identified some issues that we think deserve 
attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and 
environmental information provided by ANR. This preliminary list of 
issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Potential noise levels due to the operation of the 
compressor stations; and
     Conversion of about 13.5 acres of state owned land to 
private land.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. By becoming a commenter, your 
concerns will be addressed in the EA and considered by the Commission. 
Your comments should focus on the potential environmental effects of 
the proposal, reasonable 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 1;
     Reference Docket No. CP06-464-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before November 28, 2006.
    Please note that 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 an account which can be created on-line.

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the

[[Page 64700]]

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. If you wish 
to remain on our environmental mailing list, please return the 
Information Request form included in Appendix 2. 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 (i.e., CP06-464). 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.

Magalie R. Salas,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-18540 Filed 11-2-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P