[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 40 (Thursday, February 28, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10761-10763]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3763]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP08-63-000]


Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Fitchburg Expansion Project, 
Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of Site Visit

February 22, 2008.
    The staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or 
Commission) will prepare an environmental assessment (EA) that will 
discuss the potential environmental impacts of the Fitchburg Expansion 
Project involving construction and operation of natural gas pipeline 
facilities by Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company (Tennessee) in Worcester 
and Middlesex Counties, Massachusetts. 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 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 March 24, 2008. Details on how to submit comments are 
provided in the Public Participation section of this notice.
    This notice is being sent to affected landowners; federal, state, 
and local government agencies; elected officials; Native American 
tribes; other interested parties; and local libraries and newspapers. 
State and local government representatives are asked to notify their 
constituents of this proposed project and to encourage them to comment 
on their areas of concern.
    A fact sheet prepared by the FERC entitled ``An Interstate Natural 
Gas Facility On My Land? What Do I Need 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).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Tennessee's Fitchburg Expansion Project would increase the size of 
a portion of its Fitchburg Lateral and install some minor facilities in 
order to provide 12,300 dekatherms per day of firm transportation 
service for the Massachusetts Development Financial Agency. To 
accomplish this, Tennessee proposes to:
     Replace approximately 5.15 miles of 6-inch-diameter 
pipeline with 12-inch-diameter pipeline on Tennessee's Line 268-100 
(Fitchburg Lateral) in Worcester County, Massachusetts;
     Install a pig \1\ launcher at the existing mainline valve 
at the beginning of the Fitchburg Lateral in Framingham, Massachusetts; 
and
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    \1\ A pig is an internal tool that can be used to clean and/or 
inspect a pipeline for damage or corrosion. A pig launcher/receiver 
is an aboveground facility where pigs are inserted into and or 
retrieved from the pipeline.
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     Install a pig receiver at the existing Unitil Meter 
Station at the terminus of the Fitchburg Lateral (milepost 5.13) in 
Lunenburg, Massachusetts.
    The general location of the proposed 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 are 
available on the Commission's Web site (http://www.ferc.gov) 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 
``Additional Information'' section 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 Tennessee.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Tennessee proposes to utilize a 70-to 80-foot-wide construction 
right-of-way. This includes the existing permanent right-of-way that 
varies between 20 and 30 feet, which would continue to be maintained 
after construction. A total of 55.19 acres would be affected during 
construction and 15.95 acres would be affected during operation. The 
pig launcher and receiver would be constructed adjacent to existing 
Tennessee aboveground structures.

The EA Process

    We \3\ 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 impact that could result if it 
authorizes Tennessee's proposal. By this notice, we are also asking 
federal, state, and local agencies with

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jurisdiction and/or special expertise with respect to environmental 
issues to formally 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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    \3\ ''We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the FERC's Office of Energy Projects.
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    NEPA also requires the FERC 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 important environmental issues. By this Notice, 
we are requesting public comments on the scope of the issues to address 
in the EA. All comments received are 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 these general 
headings:
     Geology and soils.
     Land use and visual quality.
     Cultural resources.
     Vegetation and wildlife (including threatened and 
endangered species).
     Air quality and noise.
     Reliability and safety.
    We will also evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed project 
or portions of the project, where necessary, and make recommendations 
on how to lessen or avoid impacts on the various resource areas.
    Our independent analysis of the issues will be presented 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; 
local libraries and newspapers; 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 pipeline 
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: 
Kimberley 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 
Branch 1, PJ-11.1;
     Reference Docket No. CP08-63-000; and
     Mail your comments so that they will be received in 
Washington, DC on or before March 24, 2008.
    The Commission encourages electronic filing of comments. See Title 
18 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 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.''

Becoming an Intervenor

    In addition to involvement in the 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 Commission's 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 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 2).\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.

Site Visit

    On April 1, 2008, the Office of Energy Projects' (OEP) staff will 
conduct a pre-certification site visit of the proposed Fitchburg 
Expansion Project. We will view Tennessee's proposed pipeline route, 
route variations, and aboveground facilities that are being considered 
for the proposed project. Staff will tour the proposed project area by 
automobile and on foot. Representatives of Tennessee will accompany the 
OEP staff.
    All interested parties may attend the site visit. Those planning to 
attend must provide their own transportation. If you are interested in 
attending the site visit, please meet us at 9 a.m. in the parking lot 
of the Target at 86 Orchard Hill Park Drive, Leominster, MA.
    For additional information, please contact the Commission's Office 
of External Affairs at 1-866-208-FERC (3372).

Environmental Mailing List

    As described above, we may mail the EA for comment. If you are 
interested in receiving an EA for review and/or comment, please return 
the Environmental Mailing List Mailer (appendix 3). If you do not 
return the Environmental Mailing List Mailer, you will be taken off the 
mailing list. All individuals who provide written comments will remain 
on our environmental mailing list for this project.

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, then 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

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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. E8-3763 Filed 2-27-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P