[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 21 (Thursday, January 31, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5831-5833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1737]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP08-032-000]


Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America; Notice of Intent To 
Prepare an Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Herscher-
Galesville Expansion Project and Request for Comments on Environmental 
Issues

January 25, 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 Herscher-Galesville Expansion 
Project involving construction and operation of facilities by Natural 
Gas Pipeline Company of America (Natural) in Kankakee County, 
Illinois.\1\ These facilities would consist of new water withdrawal 
wells, new and extended water disposal wells, new water pipelines, one 
new compressor station addition, and extension of five existing natural 
gas injection/withdrawal wells. 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\ Natural'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 scoping process the 
Commission will use to gather input from the public and interested 
agencies on the project. Your input will help determine which issues 
need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping period 
will close on February 4, 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 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 Natural 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

    Natural proposes to add new and modify existing natural gas storage 
facilities, and add new compression, at its existing Herscher Gas 
Storage Field near the town of Herscher, Illinois. The purpose of this 
project is to increase the storage field's working gas capacity by 10 
billion cubic feet and increase the peak day withdrawal capacity. 
Natural would achieve this increased capacity by constructing 
facilities to remove water from the Galesville formation part of the 
storage field. Reworking of five existing withdrawal/injection wells, 
and construction of the new compressor station addition within its 
existing adjacent Compressor Station 201, would enable Natural to 
increase peak day withdrawal capacity. Natural proposes to:
     Install 15 new water withdrawal wells with pumps;
     Install 11 new water disposal wells;
     Install five water booster pumps at existing water 
disposal wells;
     Conduct up to four lateral extensions at existing water 
disposal wells;
     Conduct workover/extensions on five existing natural gas 
injection/withdrawal wells;
     Replace, loop or extend 12 waterlines with 8 13-inch-
diameter plastic pipe; and
     Construct a new 8,180 horsepower (hp) gas-fired engine 
compressor station addition.
    Natural requests certification by July 1, 2008, and expects to have 
the new water wells and associated water lines in service by April 1, 
2009, followed by compressor services in September of 2009.
    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 website 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 125 acres

[[Page 5832]]

of land widely scattered around the western, southern and eastern 
outskirts of the Town of Herscher. This includes 107 acres under 
construction right-of-way that would be restored to previous land use 
following construction, and 18 acres under new permanent easement or 
ownership.
    Natural would use eight existing well pads and 11 new well pads as 
staging for horizontal directionally-drilling (HDD) 15 new water 
withdrawal wells and 11 new disposal wells (11.3 acres of construction 
work area). Natural would use the HDD method for the four lateral 
extensions of water disposal wells, staged from existing well pad sites 
(0.9 acres of construction work area). Extension of the five natural 
gas injection/withdrawal wells would be performed at existing well 
sites (1.2 acres of construction work area). Natural would construct 
three new booster pumps at three existing water disposal wells (1.4 
acres of construction work area).
    Natural would require virtually the entire 83-acre Compressor 
Station 201 property as construction work areas, including staging, for 
installation of the compressor station facility additions. Natural 
plans to use a 50-foot-wide construction right-of-way for installation 
of the waterlines, and would retain the full 50 feet as permanent 
right-of-way for operation. This right-of-way would occur as looping, 
replacement, or along new alignments, and would require 27 acres of 
construction work area.

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.

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. CP08-032-000.
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before February 25, 2008.
    The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments. See 18 
Code of Federal Regulations 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 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.''
    As described above, we may publish and distribute the EA for 
comment. If you are interested in receiving an EA for review and/or 
comment, please return the Environmental Mailing List Form (Appendix 
3). If you do not return the Environmental Mailing List Form, 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

[[Page 5833]]

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 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. E8-1737 Filed 1-30-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P