[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 213 (Monday, November 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65391-65392]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-26125]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R4-R-2008-N0280; 40135-3210-0000-P3]


Fayetteville/Greenville Expansion Project, Texas Gas 
Transmission, LLC, Right-of-Way Permit Application To Cross Hillside 
National Wildlife Refuge, Holmes County, MS

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of receipt of right-of-way permit application.

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SUMMARY: We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), request 
public comment on a right-of-way (ROW) permit application we have 
received from Texas Gas Transmission, LLC (Texas Gas), to install a 36-
inch-diameter natural gas pipeline under lands within Hillside National 
Wildlife Refuge (Refuge) in Holmes County, MS.

DATES: If you wish to comment on this application, you must do so by 
December 3, 2008. We will consider public comments received or 
postmarked by that date.

ADDRESSES: Send comments by U.S. mail to Ken Clough, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, 6578 Dogwood View Parkway, Jackson, MS 39213; by 
facsimile to (601) 965-4010; or by e-mail to [email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of documents and to ask 
project questions, see ``Document Availability.''

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

A. Background

    We have received a right-of-way (ROW) permit application from Texas 
Gas to install a 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline under lands 
within the boundary of Hillside National Wildlife Refuge in Holmes 
County, MS. The proposed use is part of the Texas Gas Fayetteville/
Greenville Expansion Project to construct, own, and operate 262.6 miles 
of 36-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline and associated facilities in 
the states of Arkansas and Mississippi. The Greenville Lateral, in 
Mississippi, consists of approximately 96.4 miles in Washington, 
Sunflower, Humphries, Holmes and Attala Counties. The pipeline will 
carry natural gas supplies from the Fayetteville Shale production area 
in north central Arkansas to consumer markets served by Texas Gas and 
other interstate pipelines. The pipeline is intended to provide 
increased pipeline capacity from the Fayetteville Shale production 
area.
    Texas Gas proposes to use subsurface Horizontal Directional 
Drilling (HDD) technology to cross the Refuge lands. The HDD bore and 
installation of one 36-inch-diameter pipeline will take place between 
95 and 115 feet below the surface of Refuge lands. The route will 
follow an abandoned railroad right-of-way for an estimated 1,405 feet 
below ground under the northern tip of the Refuge. The entry and exit 
holes of the HDD bore will be located approximately 1,000 feet outside 
the Refuge boundary. Texas Gas proposes to cut a 3-foot-wide path 
across the Refuge directly above the pipe location. The path will be 
used to hand-lay two electrical grid guide wires for guidance of the 
underground drill bit. A HDD drilling rig, set up outside the Refuge, 
will be used to drill

[[Page 65392]]

along a prescribed underground path. During this process, drilling 
fluid, bentonite clay, and water will be continuously pumped into the 
hole to remove cuttings and maintain the integrity of the hole. 
Bentonite is composed of natural clay minerals. Once the hole has been 
drilled, a prefabricated segment of pipe will be attached behind a 
reaming tool on the exit side of the crossing and pulled back through 
the drill hole to the drill rig, completing the crossing. The time 
required to complete the HDD is anticipated to be approximately 3-5 
weeks, including setup, drilling time, pull-back, cleanup, and 
demobilization. Actual time drilling under the Refuge lands is 
estimated at 1 week.

B. Document Availability

    Under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (Pub. L. 91-
190, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), we prepared a compatibility determination 
and an environmental action statement, and assessed the impacts of 
constructing and operating the proposed Texas Gas pipeline in order to 
assist the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in preparing a 
final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the proposed project. A 
copy of the compatibility determination is available from the Theodore 
Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex, 728 Yazoo Road, Hollandale, 
MS 38748; (662) 839-2638 (telephone). The final EIS is available for 
public inspection at: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public 
References and Files Maintenance Branch, 888 First Street, NE., Room 
2A, Washington, DC 20426; (202) 502-8371 (telephone). Additional 
information about the project is available from FERC's Office of 
External Affairs, by telephone (1-866-208-FERC) or on the FERC Web 
site: http://www.ferc.gov.
    Interested parties may submit written comments by mail, facsimile, 
or e-mail to the address in the ADDRESSES section. Before including 
your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal 
identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your 
entire comment--including your personal identifying information--may be 
made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your 
comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public 
review, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so. After 
reviewing any comments we receive on the ROW application, we will issue 
our Record of Decision (ROD). The ROD will describe the rationale for 
our decision, along with any measures (permit conditions) we will 
require the applicant to carry out to minimize environmental harm if we 
have made a decision to issue the ROW permit.

    Authority: We publish this notice under 30 U.S.C. 185(k).

    Dated: October 28, 2008.
Cynthia K. Dohner,
Acting Regional Director.
[FR Doc. E8-26125 Filed 10-31-08; 8:45 am]
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