[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 217 (Thursday, November 9, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65802-65804]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-18988]


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

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

 [Docket No. CP07-4-000]


Mississippi Hub, L.L.C.; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Mississippi Hub Gas Storage 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

November 3, 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 a proposal by Mississippi Hub, 
L.L.C. (MS HUB) to construct, own, and operate a new salt cavern 
natural gas storage facility in Simpson and Jefferson Davis Counties, 
Mississippi.\1\ The proposal would provide for the injection, storage, 
and withdrawal of natural gas in two underground caverns created in the 
Bond Salt Dome formation using a solution mining (leaching) process. 
Once complete, the project would provide approximately 12 billion cubic 
feet (Bcf) of working gas storage capacity, capable of injecting 600 
million cubic feet per day (MMcfd) and delivering gas at maximum rates 
up to 1,200 MMcfd. Proposed project facilities include gas compression 
and withdrawal facilities, a leaching plant, an electrical substation, 
raw water withdrawal and brine disposal facilities, approximately 11.4 
miles of pipeline and utility corridor, metering facilities and 
ancillary equipment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

    This notice announces the opening of the public comment period that 
will be used to gather environmental input from the public and 
interested agencies on the project. Comments are requested by December 
4, 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 MS HUB company representative about the acquisition of 
an easement to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed 
facilities. The 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 natural gas 
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 MS 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

    MS HUB seeks authority to construct and operate the following:
    (1) Natural Gas Handling Facility Site; Simpson County 
(approximately 80 acres). The facility would include two storage 
caverns; a 29,205 horsepower compressor station; separation, 
dehydration, metering, and appurtenant facilities; leaching plant; one 
freshwater well; and a non-jurisdictional electrical substation. 
Solution mining of the caverns would occur over an approximate five-
year time span.
    (2) Primary Raw Water Withdrawal and Brine Disposal Facility

[[Page 65803]]

(approximately 45 acres), located south of the Natural Gas Handling 
Facility in Jefferson Davis County, including three raw water wells, 
two brine disposal wells, pipelines, roads, and ancillary equipment.
    (3) SONAT (Southern Natural Gas Company) Tie-in and Metering/
Secondary Raw Water Withdrawal and Brine Disposal Facility 
(approximately 40 acres), located north of the Natural Gas Handling 
Facility in Simpson County, including two raw water wells, three brine 
disposal wells, pipelines, roads, ancillary equipment, and metering 
equipment for an interconnection to the SONAT pipeline system.
    (4) CrossTex Tie-In and Metering Facility Site (approximately 0.52 
acre), located in Simpson County along the West Pipeline Corridor. The 
site would include metering, pressure control, and related ancillary 
equipment, pipelines, and roads.
    (5) SONAT Crossover Tie-in and Metering Facility Site 
(approximately 0.52 acre), located in Jefferson Davis County at the 
terminus of the West Pipeline Corridor. The site would include 
metering, pressure control, and related ancillary equipment, pipelines, 
and roads.
    (6) Utility and Pipeline Corridors. Five pipeline corridors 
(Utility, South, North, East, and West) totaling 11.4 miles, are 
proposed for the collocation of raw water and brine disposal pipelines, 
36-inch-diameter natural gas pipelines, and an overhead electric 
utility line (non-jurisdictional). All corridors except the 0.2 mile 
Utility Corridor would parallel existing utility or pipeline right-of-
ways. Construction right-of-way widths range from 300-feet-wide 
(Utility Corridor) to 75-feet-wide (West Pipeline Corridor). Following 
construction, the permanent pipeline rights-of-way would be 50-feet-
wide for all pipeline corridors.
    Non-jurisdictional facilities would need to be constructed by 
others in order to complete the project. These facilities include the 
permanent electrical substation at the Natural Gas Handling Facility 
Site, overhead electrical power lines, and five permanent electrical 
power drops. These facilities would be constructed and operated by 
local electric utility companies. The permanent electric powerline 
easement along the Utility Corridor would be 175-feet-wide, adjacent to 
the pipeline right-of-way.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in 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 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 250.2 
acres of land. Following construction, about 196.1 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites or pipeline right-of-way. 
MS HUB has purchased in fee the tracts for the Natural Gas Handling 
Facility Site, the Primary Raw Water Withdrawal and Brine Disposal 
Facility Site, and the SONAT Tie-in and Metering/Secondary Raw Water 
Withdrawal and Brine Disposal Facility Site. Land requirements for 
meter stations would be purchased. The remainder of pipeline rights-of-
way would be acquired by easement.

The EA Process

    We \3\ 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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.
    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.

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 MS HUB. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
    Project-related impact on:
     Noise sensitive areas (i.e. residences) located in 
proximity to construction operations and the proposed compressor 
facility;
     habitat for Federally and state-listed aquatic species 
downstream from project locations;
     gopher tortoise habitat in the project area (state listed 
endangered species);
     159.3 acres of forest lands;
     58.5 acres of prime farmland soils;
     29 waterbody crossings; and
     2 wetlands.

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/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 No. CP07-4-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before December 4, 2006.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of comments. 
Please refer to 18 Code of Federal Regulations

[[Page 65804]]

(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 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 a copy of the EA, please return the Information 
Request form (Appendix 2). 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.

Site Visit

    On November 16, 2006, the OEP staff will conduct a site visit of 
the planned MS HUB Storage Project. We will view the proposed facility 
locations and pipeline route. Examination will be by automobile and on 
foot. Representatives of MS HUB will be accompanying the OEP staff.
    All interested parties may attend. Those planning to attend must 
provide their own transportation and should meet at 9 a.m. (CST) in the 
parking lot of the Wal-Mart, 1625 Simpson Highway 49, Magee, 
Mississippi on November 16, 2006.
    For additional information, please contact the Commission's Office 
of External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC (3372).

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

    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. 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 additional 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. E6-18988 Filed 11-8-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P