[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 205 (Wednesday, October 24, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60345-60347]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-20897]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP07-427-000]


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

October 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 PetroLogistics Gas Storage 
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by 
PetroLogistics Natural Gas Storage, LLC (PetroLogistics) in Iberville 
Parish, Louisiana.\1\ These facilities would consist of one injection/
withdrawal storage well, various diameter gas header, intereconnect, 
and lateral pipelines totaling 13.73 miles, one new 20,000 horsepower 
(hp) electric compressor station, five meter stations and two mainline 
valves. 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\ PetroLogistics'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 To Know?'' was attached to the 
project notice PetroLogistics 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

    PetroLogistics proposes to build and operate a high-deliverability, 
multi-cycle natural gas storage facility and appurtenant facilities in 
an existing brine cavern in the Choctaw Salt Dome located 4 miles 
northwest of the city of Plaquemine, Louisiana. The project would use 
one cavern within the Choctaw Salt Dome which currently is the site of 
up to nine caverns used as part of the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. This project would provide a 
working gas capacity of approximately 9 billion cubic feet and maximum 
daily injection and withdrawal capabilities of up to 150 to 300 million 
cubic feet per day.
    PetroLogistics seeks authority to construct and operate:
     One 20,000 hp electric compressor station on a 2 acre 
site;
     One 350-foot-long 24-inch-diameter interconnect pipeline;
     7.3 miles of 24-inch-diameter natural gas header pipeline 
connecting the compressor station and the Florida Gas Transmission 
Company (FGT), CrossTex LIG Pipeline Company (Crosstex)/Bridgeline 
Pipeline System (Bridgeline) and Texas Eastern Transmission Company 
(TETCO) interconnects;
     5.83 miles of 16-inch-diameter interconnect pipeline from 
the Bridgeline/CrossTex tie-in to the Southern Natural Gas Company 
(SONAT) pipeline interconnect;
     A 0.60-mile-long TETCO lateral from the TETCO Lateral 
Meter Station; five meter stations/interconnects (FGT, Bridgeline, 
Crosstex, TETCO and SONAT Meter Stations);
     And two mainline valves.
    PetroLogistics requests certification by December 31, 2007.
    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 disturbance 
of 137 acres of land, including 47 acres under existing permanent 
easement, 40 acres to be added as new permanent easement or ownership, 
and 53 acres as temporary construction right-of-way that would be 
restored to previous land use following

[[Page 60346]]

construction. PetroLogistics would use a 75-foot-wide construction 
right-of-way width 40-foot-wide operational right-of-way for the 
installed pipelines.

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;
     Water resources;
     Wetlands and fisheries;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Threatened and endangered species;
     Land use;
     Cultural resources;
     Air quality and noise;
     Reliability and safety; and
     Cumulative impacts.
    We will also evaluate reasonable 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 
instructions in the public participation section below.

Currently Identified Environmental Issues

    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 PetroLogistics. This 
preliminary list of issues may be changed based on your comments and 
our analysis.
     Horizontal directional drill crossing of eight perennial 
waterways, including Wilbert's Canal, Bayou Jacob, Bayou Plaquemine, 
Bayou Tigre, and other unnamed canals;
     Impact of 15 acres of emergent wetlands, 17 acres of 
forested wetlands, and 66 acres of agricultural land;
     Potential clearing of cypress and tupelo trees;
     Potential impacts to a crawfish farm;
     Visual impacts of one reworked injection/withdrawal well;
     Compressor station operational noise impacts for 
residences located northeast of the site; and
     Adjacent to crude oil storage caverns operated as part of 
the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Preserve.

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: 
Kimberly D. Bose, 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 2.
     Reference Docket No. CP07-427-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before November 15, 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 online.
    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 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

    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. By this 
notice we are also asking governmental

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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 (3372) 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 (i.e., enter PF06-
398) 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.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E7-20897 Filed 10-23-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P