[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 17 (Friday, January 26, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3833-3835]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-1134]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP07-031-000]


Dominion Transmission, Inc. Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed USA Storage Project and 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

January 17, 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 USA Storage Project involving 
construction and operation of natural gas facilities by Dominion 
Transmission, Inc. (DTI) in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Virginia 
and West Virginia.\1\ DTI proposes to drill 14 new storage wells and 
install approximately a total of 1.57 miles of associated six-inch-
diameter pipeline that would connect the new wells to the existing 
piping network within DTI's Pennsylvania natural gas storage complexes. 
In addition, DTI plans to construct a new compressor station at its 
West Virginia storage complex and expand three of its existing 
compressor stations located in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 
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\ DTI'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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    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 February 
19, 2007.
    With this notice, the FERC staff is asking other federal, state, 
local and tribal agencies with jurisdiction and/or special expertise 
with respect to environmental issues to cooperate with us in the 
preparation of the EA. These agencies may choose to participate once 
they have evaluated DTI's proposal relative to their responsibilities. 
Agencies that would like to request cooperating status should follow 
the instructions for filing comments described in Appendix 1.
    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 brochure 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 Web site at 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

    DTI seeks authority to construct and operate the following natural 
gas facilities:
    Potter and Clinton Counties, PA:
     Drill six new storage wells and install a total of 
approximately 0.45 mile of new six-inch-diameter pipeline to connect 
the new wells to the existing storage piping network within DTI's 
Greenlick Storage Complex;
    Tioga County, PA:
     Drill eight new storage wells and install a total of about 
1.52 miles of new six-inch-diameter pipeline to connect the new wells 
to the existing storage piping network within DTI's Sabinsville Storage 
Complex;
     Expand the existing Sabinsville Compressor Station by 
adding a 2,370 horsepower (HP) natural gas-fired reciprocating unit, a 
5,800 HP gas turbine and a desiccant dehydration capacity of 100 mmcfd;
    Gilmer County, WV:
     Construct a new compressor station at the Racket-Newberne 
Storage Complex that would include a 1,150 HP natural gas-fired 
reciprocating unit and would have a glycol dehydration capacity of 50 
million cubic feet per day (mmcfd);
    Fauquier County, VA:
     Expand the existing Quantico Compressor Station by adding 
a 7,800 HP gas turbine;
    Steuben County, NY:
     Expand the existing Woodhull Compressor Station by adding 
two additional 1,800 HP reciprocating units; and
    Frederick and Washington Counties, MD and Franklin County, PA:
     Hydrostatically re-test three sections of DTI's existing 
30-inch-diameter PL-1 pipeline which would allow the system to operate 
at a 1,250 pounds per square inch gauge (psig) of Maximum Allowable 
Operating Pressure (MAOP). The total pipeline length that would be 
hydrostatically re-tested is approximately 4.46 miles.

    The expansions of and additions to these existing natural gas 
facilities would allow DTI to meet its precedent agreements to provide 
184,994 Dekatherms per day (Dt/d) of new firm transportation capacity 
on its existing PL-1 pipeline system for delivery to two existing 
delivery points. The new facilities would allow an additional 4.29 
billion cubic feet (bcf) of natural gas to be withdrawn from storage, 
which would be used to fulfill DTI's increasing requests for service.
    The general locations of the project facilities are shown in 
Appendix 2.\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 2 (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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Land Requirements

    Construction and expansion of the proposed pipeline and aboveground 
facilities would affect approximately 132.61 acres of land and includes 
access roads, pipe/contractor yards, and extra work areas. Following 
construction, about 41.65 acres would be permanently maintained. The 
remaining 90.96 acres land would be restored and allowed to revert to 
its former use.

[[Page 3834]]

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.
    Our \3\ 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.
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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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Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    In the EA, we will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of 
the construction and operation of the proposed project. We will also 
evaluate reasonable alternatives to the proposed project or portions of 
the project.
    We have already identified the following issues that we think 
deserve attention based on a preliminary review of the proposed 
facilities and the environmental information provided by DTI:
     Two private water supply wells within 150 feet of the 
construction workspace;
     Six waterbody crossings, one of which is a sensitive 
surface waterbody;
     Seven wetland crossings;
     Potential impacts to a historic farmstead; and
     Crossing of Susquehannock State Forest, a designated area 
used for conservation and recreation.
    The above preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your 
comments and our analysis.

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 
and routes), and measures to avoid or lessen environmental impact. The 
more specific your comments, the more useful they will be. Please 
carefully follow the instructions below 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. CP07-031-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before February 19, 2007.
    The Commission strongly encourages electronic filing of comments. 
Please refer to 18 Code of Federal Regulations (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 3). 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.

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 email 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 3. 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

[[Page 3835]]

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. E7-1134 Filed 1-25-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P