[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 128 (Tuesday, July 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32151-32153]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15898]



[[Page 32151]]

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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

[Docket No. CP09-418-000]


Perryville Gas Storage LLC; Notice of Intent To Prepare an 
Environmental Assessment for the Proposed Crowville Salt Dome Storage 
Project and Request for Comments on Environmental Issues, and Notice of 
Public Scoping Meeting and Site Visit

June 26, 2009.
    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 Crowville Salt Dome Storage 
Project (Project) involving construction and operation of facilities by 
Perryville Gas Storage LLC (Perryville) in Franklin and Richland 
Parishes, Louisiana. This EA will be used by the Commission in its 
decisionmaking process to determine whether the project is in the 
public convenience and necessity.
    This notice announces the opening of the scoping process we will 
use to gather input from the public and interested agencies on the 
project. Your input will help the Commission staff determine what 
issues need to be evaluated in the EA. Please note that the scoping 
period will close on July 27, 2009.
    Comments may be submitted in written form or verbally. Further 
details on how to submit written comments are provided in the public 
participation section of this notice. In lieu of sending written 
comments, we invite you to attend the public scoping meeting we have 
scheduled as follows: FERC Public Scoping Meeting, Crowville Salt Dome 
Storage Project, Tuesday, July 14, 2009, 7 p.m., Crockett Point Baptist 
Church, 139 Crockett Point Church Road, Winnsboro, Louisiana 71295.
    Interested groups and individuals are encouraged to attend the 
meeting and to present comments on the environmental issues they 
believe should be addressed in the EA. A transcript of the meeting will 
be generated so that your comments will be accurately recorded.
    In addition, on July 14, 2009, the FERC staff will conduct a public 
site visit to view the proposed facility locations and pipeline route. 
Examination will be by automobile and on foot. Representatives of 
Perryville will be accompanying the FERC staff. All interested parties 
may attend. Those planning to attend must provide their own 
transportation and should meet at the Crockett Point Baptist Church at 
1 p.m., at the address listed above. For additional information, you 
may contact the Commission's Office of External Affairs at 1-866-208-
FERC (3372).
    This notice is being sent to affected landowners; Federal, State, 
and local government representatives and agencies; elected officials; 
environmental and public interest groups; Native American Tribes; 
parties to this proceeding; and local libraries and newspapers. State 
and local government representatives are asked to notify their 
constituents of this proposed project and encourage them to comment on 
their areas of concern.
    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 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 Perryville 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 also available for viewing on the FERC Web site (http://www.ferc.gov).

Summary of the Proposed Project

    Perryville requests authorization to construct, own and operate a 
new natural gas storage facility in the Crowville Salt Dome, as well as 
related facilities in Franklin and Richland Parishes, Louisiana. Upon 
completion of the proposed facilities, the Project would provide a 
total of 15 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas storage working 
capacity in two salt caverns, with a maximum injection rate of up to 
226 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) and a maximum withdrawal rate 
of 600 MMcf/d.
    According to Perryville, its project would provide necessary gas 
infrastructure, add new competitive storage facilities to the U.S. 
natural gas market, and support further development of domestic gas 
production in the Gulf Coast and Mid-Continent regions.
    The Crowville Gas Storage Project would consist of the following 
facilities:
     Two 7.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) working gas capacity 
natural gas storage caverns connected to 1000 feet of utility corridor 
for an 8-inch-diameter freshwater pipeline, an 8-inch-diameter brine 
pipeline, a 14-inch-diameter natural gas pipeline, and a permanent 
access road;
     2.6 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline to deliver to 
CenterPoint Energy Gas Transmission Company and 11.8 miles of 36-inch-
diameter pipeline to deliver to Columbia Gulf Transmission;
     One 9,500 horsepower compressor station facility and 
multi-purpose buildings;
     Leaching facilities with 0.8 mile of 20-inch-diameter 
brine pipeline and 14-inch-diameter freshwater pipeline connecting to 
three brine settling ponds;
     Two 20-inch-diameter brine disposal pipelines (2.3 miles 
and 0.9 mile) connecting to five brine disposal well pads; and
     About ten access roads, a wareyard, and four freshwater 
supply wells.
    The general location of the project facilities is shown in appendix 
1.\1\
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    \1\ The appendices referenced in this notice are not being 
printed in the Federal Register. Copies of appendices were sent to 
all those receiving this notice in the mail and are available at 
http://www.ferc.gov using the link called ``eLibrary'' 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.
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Land Requirements for Construction

    Construction of the Natural Gas Handling Facilities would disturb 
about 39 acres, including land for the two storage caverns, the 
compressor station, a 100-foot-wide utility corridor, leaching plant, 
and 4 freshwater supply wells. The leaching facilities would disturb an 
additional 30 acres of land for the brine disposal ponds and brine and 
water pipelines. Construction of the brine disposal wells would disturb 
a total of 12.7 acres (2.54 acres for each of 5 wells), while operation 
of the brine disposal wells would be limited to a total of 1.4 acres 
(0.28 acre per well).
    The first pipeline corridor would consist of 2.6 miles of a 150-
foot-wide corridor (for two pipelines), while the second corridor would 
disturb an additional 9.2 miles of 125-foot-wide corridor. The total 
acreage for construction of the pipelines would be about 188 acres. 
Following construction, about 88.5 acres would be maintained for 75- 
and 60-foot-wide permanent pipeline rights-of-way; the remaining 
acreage would be restored and allowed to revert to former uses. About 
10 miles of the proposed pipeline route parallels

[[Page 32152]]

an existing Columbia Gulf natural gas pipeline right-of-way.

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, the Commission requests public 
comments on the scope of the issues to address in the EA. All comments 
received will be considered during the preparation of the EA.
    In the EA we \2\ 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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    \2\ ``We'', ``us'', and ``our'' refer to the environmental staff 
of the Commission's Office of Energy Projects.
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     Geology and soils;
     Land use;
     Water resources, fisheries, and wetlands;
     Cultural resources;
     Vegetation and wildlife;
     Air quality and noise;
     Endangered and threatened species;
     Hazardous waste; and
     Public safety.
    We will also 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 presented in the EA. 
Depending on the comments received during the scoping process, the EA 
may be published and mailed to those on our environmental mailing list 
(see discussion of how to remain on our mailing list on page 6). 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.
    With this notice, we are asking agencies with jurisdiction and/or 
special expertise with respect to environmental issues to formally 
cooperate with us in the preparation of the EA. These agencies may 
choose to participate once they have evaluated the proposal relative to 
their responsibilities. Agencies that would like to request cooperating 
agency status should follow the instructions for filing comments 
provided under the Public Participation section of this notice.

Public Participation

    You can make a difference by providing us with your specific 
comments or concerns about the project. Your comments should focus on 
the potential environmental effects, reasonable alternatives, and 
measures to avoid or lessen environmental impacts. The more specific 
your comments, the more useful they will be. To ensure that your 
written comments are timely and properly recorded, please send in your 
comments so that they will be received in Washington, DC on or before 
July 27, 2009.
    For your convenience, there are three methods which you can use to 
submit your written comments to the Commission. The Commission 
encourages electronic filing of comments and has expert eFiling staff 
available to assist you at 202-502-8258 or [email protected].
    (1) You may file your comments electronically by using the Quick 
Comment feature, which is located at http://www.ferc.gov under the link 
called ``Documents and Filings''. A Quick Comment is an easy method for 
interested persons to submit text-only comments on a project;
    (2) You may file your comments electronically by using the 
``eFiling'' feature that is listed under the ``Documents and Filings'' 
link. eFiling involves preparing your submission in the same manner as 
you would if filing on paper, and then saving the file on your 
computer's hard drive. You will attach that file to your submission. 
New eFiling users must first create an account by clicking on the links 
called ``Sign up'' or ``eRegister''. You will be asked to select the 
type of filing you are making. A comment on a particular project is 
considered a ``Comment on a Filing''; or
    (3) You may file your comments with the Commission via mail by 
sending 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.
    In all instances, please reference the project docket number CP09-
418-000 with your submission. Label one copy of the comments for the 
attention of Gas Branch 2, PJ-11.2.

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 certain distances of 
aboveground facilities (as defined in the Commission's regulations).
    If you do not want to send comments at this time but still want to 
remain on our mailing list, please return the Information Request 
(appendix 2). 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 ``intervenor,'' which is an official party to the 
Commission's proceeding. Intervenors play a more formal role in the 
process and are able to file briefs, appear at hearings, and be heard 
by the courts if they choose to appeal the Commission's final ruling. 
An intervenor formally participates in the proceeding by filing a 
request to intervene. Instructions for becoming an intervenor are 
included in the User's Guide under the ``e-filing'' link on the 
Commission's Web site.

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 
Internet at 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, 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.

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    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. E9-15898 Filed 7-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6717-01-P