[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 63 (Tuesday, April 3, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15877-15878]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-6101]



[[Page 15877]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP07-90-000]


Tres Palacios Gas Storage LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Tres Palacios Gas Storage 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues

March 28, 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 Tres Palacios Gas Storage 
Project involving construction and operation of a new salt dome cavern 
gas storage project and pipelines by Tres Palacios Gas Storage LLC 
(Tres Palacios) in Matagorda and Wharton Counties, Texas.\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\ Tres Palacios' application was filed with the Commission 
under Section 7 of the Natural Gas Act.
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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 To Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice (Tres Palacios) 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

    Tres Palacios is proposing to provide a total of about 36.04 
billion cubic feet (Bcf) of storage capacity, supported by about 17.95 
Bcf of cushion gas capacity, and be capable of injecting gas at maximum 
rate of 1.0 Bcf per day and withdrawing and delivering gas at a maximum 
rate of 2.5 Bcf per day. Tres Palacios seeks authority to undertake the 
following construction-related activities in Texas:
     Convert three existing solution-mined caverns in Matagorda 
County that were previously used for brine production;
     Drill a second well into each of the three solution-mined 
caverns in Matagorda County to support gas injections and withdrawals;
     Construct a gas handling facility in Matagorda County 
consisting of ten 4,800-horsepower natural gas-engine driven 
compressors;
     Construct a pipeline header system consisting of: North 
Pipeline Corridor--a 30.3-mile-long segment of dual 24-inch-diameter 
pipeline in Matagorda and Wharton Counties and a second 0.7 mile-long 
segment of single 24-inch-diameter pipeline in Wharton County; and 
South Pipeline Corridor--a 6.4-mile-long segment of dual 24-inch-
diameter pipeline and a second 4.4-mile-long segment of single 24-inch-
diameter pipeline in Matagorda County;
     Construct eight meter and regulator stations and ten 
interconnect facilities in Matagorda and Wharton Counties; and
     Construct eight main line block valves in Matagorda and 
Wharton Counties.
    Tres Palacios would connect its pipeline header system with Valero 
Natural Gas Pipe Line Company, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, 
Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corporation, Natural Gas Pipeline 
Company of America, Gulf South Pipeline Company, LP, Crosstex Gulf 
Coast Transmission Company, LLC, Kinder Morgan Tejas Pipeline, L.P., 
Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC, Channel Pipeline Company, and 
Texas Eastern Transmission, L.P.
    The 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

    Construction of the proposed facilities would require about 498.2 
acres of land. Following construction, about 174.7 acres would be 
maintained as new aboveground facility sites and permanent rights-of-
way. The remaining 323.5 acres of land would be restored and allowed to 
revert to its former use.

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 could occur as a result 
of the construction and operation of the proposed 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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     Geology and soils.
     Land use.
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands.
     Cultural resources.
     Vegetation and wildlife.
     Air quality and noise.
     Endangered and threatened species.
     Hazardous waste.
     Public safety.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project 
or portions of the project, and make recommendations on how to lessen 
or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    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

[[Page 15878]]

instructions in the public participation section below.

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, 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: Philis 
Posey, Acting 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. CP07-90-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before April 30, 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 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 above-ground 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.

Philis J. Posey,
Acting Secretary.
[FR Doc. E7-6101 Filed 4-2-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P