[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2277-2279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-562]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP07-41-00]


CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company, Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed; Carthage to 
Perryville Project--Phase III and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

January 10, 2007.
    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 Carthage to Perryville 
Project--Phase III involving construction and operation of facilities 
by CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company (CenterPoint) in Red 
River Parish, Louisiana and Panola County, Texas (Project).\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\ CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company'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

[[Page 2278]]

To Know?'' addresses a number of typically asked questions, including 
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

    CenterPoint seeks authorization to construct and operate:
    (1) At the existing Panola Compressor Station in Panola County, 
Texas:
    (a) One additional natural gas-fired compressor unit identified as 
a Solar Mars 100 turbine rated at 15,000 horsepower (hp);
    (b) One 1,200 gallon condensate storage tank;
    (c) One 237 hp standby generator engine;
    (d) One filter separator;
    (e) Piping and piping systems;
    (f) One air compressor; One compressor skid; one control enclosure; 
and one office.
    (2) At the proposed Westdale Compressor Station site near Westdale 
in Red River Parish, Louisiana:
    (a) Compressor station buildings and related infrastructure;
    (b) One natural gas-fired Solar Mars 100 turbine compressor unit 
rated at 15,000 horsepower (hp);
    (c) One 1,200 gallon condensate storage tank;
    (d) One 237 hp standby generator engine;
    (e) One filter separator;
    (f) Piping and piping systems;
    (g) One air compressor; one compressor skid; one control enclosure; 
and one office.
    The general 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 (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.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    The Project would require a total of approximately 12.2 acres for 
construction of the proposed Westdale Compressor Station. The Westdale 
Compressor Station would encompass approximately 11 acres plus a 
permanent access road. Acreage on the existing Panola Compressor 
Station property grounds, and an existing access road, would also be 
utilized for the construction and operation of the proposed additional 
Panola Compressor Station facilities.

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 would occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the 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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     Air quality and noise.
     Cultural resources.
     Fisheries.
     Geology and soils.
     Land use.
     Public safety.
     Water resources.
     Wetlands.
     Wildlife.
    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 already identified issues that we think deserve attention 
based on a preliminary review of the proposed facilities and the 
environmental information provided by CenterPoint. This preliminary 
list of issues may be changed based on your comments and our analysis.
     Air quality and noise.
     Geology and soils.
     Cultural resources.
     Land use.

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. 
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 3.
     Reference Docket No. CP07-41-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before February 12, 2007.
    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 3). 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

[[Page 2279]]

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 or who own homes within distances 
defined in the Commission's regulations of certain aboveground 
facilities. By this notice we are also asking governmental agencies, 
especially those in Appendix 2, to express their interest in becoming 
cooperating agencies for the preparation of the EA.

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.
[FR Doc. E7-562 Filed 1-17-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P