[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 13 (Friday, January 18, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3459-3461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-865]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP08-33-000]


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

January 11, 2008.
    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 Dominion Hub I Project, 
involving construction and operation of natural gas facilities by 
Dominion Transmission, Inc. (Dominion) in Westmoreland County, 
Pennsylvania. The EA will be used by the Commission in its decision-
making process to determine whether the project is in the public 
convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping period that will 
be used to gather environmental input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Your input will help the Commission staff 
determine which issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that 
the scoping period will close on February 11, 2008. Details on how to 
submit comments are provided in the Public Participation section of 
this notice.
    If you are a landowner receiving this notice, you may be contacted 
by a Dominion representative about the acquisition of an easement to 
construct, operate, and maintain the proposed project 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, Dominion could 
initiate condemnation proceedings in accordance with Pennsylvania state 
law.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility on My Land? What Do I Need

[[Page 3460]]

To Know?'' 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).
    With this notice, we \1\ are 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. Agencies that would like to request cooperating status 
should follow the instructions for filing comments provided below.
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    \1\ ``We,'' ``us,'' and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the FERC's Office of Energy Projects.
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Summary of the Proposed Project

    Dominion seeks authorization to construct a new compressor station 
housing two 2,370-horsepower (hp) reciprocating gas compressor units, 
totaling 4,740 hp. Dominion would also install about 2 miles of 20-
inch-diameter pipeline (in two sections) and a meter and regulator 
station (meter station). All facilities would be constructed in 
Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The project would receive about 
200,000 dekatherms of natural gas per day (Dth/d) in summer months and 
150,000 Dth/d in winter months from Rockies Express Pipeline, LLC's 
proposed REX East Pipeline (currently under Commission review in Docket 
No. CP07-208-000) and deliver this gas to BP Energy Company. No non-
jurisdictional facilities are proposed as a part of the Hub I Project.
    Appendix A presents a detailed map identifying all facilities 
associated with this project.\2\
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    \2\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies are available on the 
Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) at the 
``eLibrary'' link or from the Commission's Public Reference Room at 
(202) 502-8371. For instructions on connecting to eLibrary, refer to 
the ``Additional Information'' section at the end of this notice. 
Copies of the appendices were sent to all those receiving this 
notice in the mail. Requests for detailed maps of the proposed 
facilities should be made directly to Dominion.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Dominion would disturb about 15.7 acres to construct the new 
compressor station, 26.2 acres to construct the 2 miles of pipeline, 
and either 1.4 acres or 2.2 acres to construct the new meter station 
(depending on final site selection). Dominion would also construct a 
pig launcher/receiver \3\ within the proposed meter station site.
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    \3\ A pipeline ``pig'' is a device designed to internally clean 
or inspect the pipeline. A pig launcher/receiver is an aboveground 
facility where pigs are inserted or retrieved from the pipeline.
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    Dominion would construct its 20-inch-diameter pipeline in a 75-
foot-wide construction right-of-way. Dominion would maintain a 50-foot-
wide permanent right-of-way for operation and maintenance of its 
pipeline. Between the proposed compressor station and the meter 
station, 25 feet of the permanent right-of-way would overlap an 
existing Dominion right-of-way.

The EA Process

    We are preparing this EA to comply with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (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, we are requesting public comments on the scope of the 
issues to be addressed in the EA. All comments received will be 
considered during the preparation of the EA.
    The EA will discuss impacts that could occur as a result of the 
construction and operation of the proposed project under the following 
general headings:
     Geology and soils.
     Water resources.
     Wetlands.
     Vegetation, fisheries, and wildlife (including threatened 
and endangered species).
     Cultural resources.
     Land use and visual quality.
     Air quality and noise.
     Reliability and safety.
    We note that the proposed compressor station would be adjacent to 
an historic park. Additionally, we will 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 for distribution and mailed to federal, state, and local 
agencies; public interest groups; interested individuals; affected 
landowners; newspapers and libraries in the project area; 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.

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. 
Your comments should focus on the potential environmental effects of 
the proposal, reasonable alternatives (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 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 Street, NE.; Room 1A, Washington, DC 20426;
     Label one copy of the comments for the attention of Gas 
Branch 1;
     Reference Docket No. CP08-33-000;
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before February 11, 2008.
    Please note that the Commission strongly encourages electronic 
filing of comments. See 18 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 
385.2001(a)(1)(iii) and the instructions on the Commission's Internet 
Web site at http://www.ferc.gov under the ``eFiling'' 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 computer's 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.''

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the EA scoping process, you may want 
to become an official party to the proceeding known as an 
``intervenor.'' Intervenors play a more formal role in the process. 
Among other things, intervenors have the right to receive copies of 
case-related Commission documents and filings by other intervenors. 
Likewise, each intervenor must send one electronic copy (using the 
Commission's eFiling system) or 14 paper copies of its filings to the 
Secretary of the Commission and must send a copy of its filings to all 
other parties on the Commission's service list

[[Page 3461]]

for this proceeding. If you want 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) (see appendix B).\4\ Only 
intervenors have the right to seek rehearing of the Commission's 
decision.
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    \4\ Interventions may also be filed electronically via the 
Internet in lieu of paper. See the previous discussion on filing 
comments electronically.
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    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. We 
encourage government representatives to notify their constituents of 
this proposed project and encourage them to comment on their areas of 
concern. If you do not return the form included as Appendix C, you will 
be removed from the Commission's environmental mailing list.

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, select ``General Search'' from the eLibrary menu, 
enter the selected date range and ``Docket Number'' excluding the last 
three digits (i.e., CP08-33), and follow the instructions. For 
assistance with access to eLibrary, the helpline can be reached at 1-
866-208-3676, TTY (202) 502-8659, or at FERCOnlineSupport@ ferc.gov. 
The eLibrary link on the FERC Internet website also provides access to 
the texts of formal documents issued by the Commission such as orders, 
notices, and rule makings.
    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, any 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. You can also 
request additional information by calling Dominion at (804) 819-2064.

Kimberly D. Bose,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-865 Filed 1-17-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P